Zootopia: Tales from Borealis
by PrinceSolaris
Summary: Zootopia's greatest detectives take on the challenge of participating in a co-op program in Borealis, The City of Northern Lights. After meeting their student, and arctic fox named Blake, things start going south. It appears that the Night Howler attacks have made their way north, and it's up to Nick, Judy, and Blake to figure out what's going on and catch those responsible.
1. Chapter 1 - Not a Morning Mammal

The familiar screech of his alarm blaring woke Nick up from his slumber. He slowly reached over toward the clock, feeling around for the 'snooze' button. After the dreadful noise had ceased, he sluggishly sat up in his bed against the headboard. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock beside him. Five A.M. He groaned quietly and reluctantly departed the confines of the warm covers. To think after six months of this routine he would have been used to it by now, but old habits die hard. Not two steps away from the bed, Nick's arms shot up into the air and he stretched his back, hearing each crack the further he reached. He trudged out of his room and into the washroom across the hall.

He turned on the light, wincing at the sudden brightness. He reached under the vanity, feeling around for his toothbrush and toothpaste. He popped up from the vanity and was greeted by his reflection in the mirror. The fox he saw looked as if he had been hit by a bus and then hit again by the same bus reversing to see what it had hit. His fur was matted in all different directions, and the squint he was wearing indicated that there was only one place he wanted to be at that moment. Back in bed, asleep.

 _I guess I should take a shower._ He thought.

Nick wet his toothbrush, applied a line of toothpaste, and began brushing. Once he was done, he walked over to the shower and turned it on, adjusting the temperature to his liking. He grabbed a towel from the nearby shelf and placed it on the vanity counter-top. He stripped out of his nightwear and entered the shower. The warm water poured through his fur and onto his skin, warming him up instantly. He picked up his bar of soap and began scrubbing himself all over. Nick enjoyed his shower time, maybe a little too much. So much, in fact, that he often lost track of time once he got in. Nick managed to snap himself out of whatever daze he was in and turned off the water. Upon stepping out, he was immediately greeted by the cold air of his flat. He shivered as he reached for his towel. He quickly dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist.

He walked back into his bedroom, turning the light on on the way in. Despite living alone, he closed the door behind him. He hung the damp towel on a hook on the door and walked over to his dresser, where his uniform was neatly folded. The uniform was a your typical detective garb, complete with pressed dress pants, white dress shirt, striped tie, and a blazer that matched the pants. After getting dressed, he glanced at the clock on his nightstand. Five-thirty A.M. Nick had to be at the HQ for six, since there was supposed to be a brief but important meeting with the Chief about his assignment.

 _I won't have time to make coffee, hopefully Judy'll get one for me._ He thought.

Nick grabbed his beige overcoat and put it on, smoothing out the shoulders in the mirror. He grabbed his wallet, badge, and his bag, and headed toward the door. Before he stepped outside, he stopped. He headed back into the flat, searching for the larger bag he had packed a few days before. Bogo told him to pack a bag with as many clothes as he could. After his search turned up nothing, he slapped himself on the forehead. He'd remembered that he had already brought his bag over to the HQ yesterday, thanks to Finnick and his van.

He locked the door behind him, and put the his keyring back into his pocket. Since it was so early, it was still dark outside; the sun usually didn't rise until about seven. Nick lived in an a condominium complex just outside the Downtown Core, so he was able to walk to work. The walk usually took about twenty minutes, so he'd be at the HQ at around five-fifty. Nick pulled his phone and a pair of earbuds from his bag. He held on to the phone with one paw, and made a weak attempt to untangle the mess of cord with the other. With a defeated sigh, he placed the phone in one of his coat pockets, and began working at the bundle of knots with both paws now. A few minutes passed, and the earbuds were once again usable. He hooked them up to his phone and pressed the 'shuffle' button in his music player. He placed his phone, as well as his paws, in his pockets and walked down the sidewalk toward the Downtown Core.

Nick arrived at the HQ at the time he predicted he would. He walked up the concrete steps, toward the front doors of the facility. They opened automatically as he approached them, and he walked inside.

The HQ was a very different place early in the morning. It was a lot quieter, for one. The night shift officers were just getting off their shifts, and the daytime officers were due to begin arriving at any moment. Ben wasn't at his usual spot at the front desk, he wasn't due to be there until seven. But even still, his computer was on. This struck Nick as suspicious, and he began walking toward the reception desk. As he approached it, he saw a familiar figure sitting in the oversized office chair leaning back, paws on the desk. Nick inhaled softly, and cracked a smile. None other than his partner in crime, Judy, was the one in the chair. Nick placed his bag on the ground, and crossed his arms.

"It's just like you to be here before me, Carrots," he said. Judy playfully smiled back at Nick, returning to a proper sitting position.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "Anyway, I got you a little something." Nick raised an eyebrow, and Judy revealed a drink tray containing two cups. "Surprise!" she said gleefully, taking one of the cups. She passed the tray containing the other cup to Nick, who took the remaining cup right away.

"My hero! Thanks a bunch, I really needed this," Nick said, taking a sip afterwards.

They stood in silence sipping at their drinks, waiting for their cue. Nick took another look around. It was one of the only times he'd been behind Ben's desk. Nick always thought that it would be one big disorganized mess, just like it was during the day. However, everything seemed to be put away neatly. Each item, from stacks of paper, to the smallest of paperclips, were in what looked like their proper place. On the floor near the massive computer tower, were two large duffel bags. One he recognized as his, while the other belonged to Judy. He recalled asking Ben if he and Judy could store their bags there, to which he replied in his usual bubbly tone, "Of course, Nick!"

"Are you excited, Nick?" Judy asked, breaking Nick's train of thought. Nick took another sip of his drink. He pondered his answer for a moment.

"As excited as I'll ever be," He replied. Judy stared at him and raised an eyebrow. She was not satisfied with his answer. Nick rolled his eyes.

"That's it? That's all you have to say? Come on, Nick! This is our first assignment out of town! We get to go to a new city and experience it! How is that not exciting? I've told you how much I love to travel, right?" Judy said, clasping her paws together. Nick sighed.

"You do realize what we're being sent there for, right? We're being sent there, essentially, to baby-sit a college kid and introduce him to the world of criminal investigation. Also, Borealis isn't as interesting as their tourism board makes it seem. For one, it's pitifully small compared to Zootopia, meaning there's less to do during recreational time, and the population is only about five million, less than half of what Zootopia has," Nick said, crossing his arms. Judy's eyes narrowed. She hopped up onto Ben's desk chair so she was at Nick's eye level.

"Nick, I'm certain Boralis isn't as bad as you say it is either. Also, I've never been there, and I'm interested in learning how mammals live over there. And as for the college kid, you agreed to this, Nick. It's not like you didn't have a choice beforehand," Judy countered. Nick raised his arms into a defensive position, taking a step away from the rabbit who was leaning toward him.

"Hey, I'm just saying it might not be all it's cracked up to be. Also, Borealis is the largest city in the region to not have Climate Control, meaning that the weather is literally unpredictable. It is situated in what is what was formerly known as 'The Boreal Forest.' The temperatures here range from unforgiving high-thirties, to multiple degrees below zero. It's currently mid-March, so the temperatures match those of Tundratown on a _good_ day," Nick said.

"Quite the pessimist you are, Nick. Not to mention quite the geographer, " Judy said, smirking. Nick only stared back at Judy with a straight face.

"Yeah, I like to research a bit if I can before going somewhere," he replied, his expression turning into a smirk matching Judy's. At that moment, a loud, demanding voice could he heard coming from the second level. Nick and Judy looked up to find the source of the familiar sound. Chief Bogo stood, leaning against the railing, was staring down at the two.

"Hopps! Wilde! Quit your bickering and meet me in my office," he yelled before disappearing back into one of the rooms.

"I guess that's our cue," Judy said.

Nick shrugged his shoulders and the two started toward Bogo's office. They walked up a flight of stairs, and continued down the hallway to where the office was situated. Before arriving, Nick stopped to look down at the foyer down below. He saw some other officers enter the building, ready for their shifts. The large clock hanging on one of the walls read '6:00 A.M.' He left the railing to catch up with Judy, who was already standing in front of Bogo's door waiting for him. They both entered the office together. Once inside, Bogo was facing his computer, most likely working on some things for the department. Nick and Judy took their seats across from Bogo, who had turned to face them. He removed his glasses, and reached into one of the drawers. He produced two file-folders, one for each of them. He passed one to both Nick and Judy. Inside, there were a few papers.

"Alright, I called you two in here to give you a few extra details about your assignment before you leave. By now, you should know that you are going to Borealis to aid in a college co-op program in association with the Borealis Metropolitan Police and Fanshawe College," he began. Bogo took Nick's folder and opened it. He grabbed one of the sheets of paper.

"This first paper is the one you give to the receptionist at the BMP HQ. Once you do, you'll get to meet Chief Maxwell, the mammal in charge of things over there. You are to listen to his every word. Once you're done at the HQ, you'll get set up in your hotel room, then it's off to the campus to meet your student." Bogo pulled out another paper. It seemed to be an information packet.

"This paper is from the college. It has a little bit of information about the student in the program. His name is Blake, and he's an arctic fox. He lives on-campus in building C, room one-thirteen. You can read the rest of this over on the train ride there." He put the packet back into the folder. He pulled out the final piece of paper.

"This is a map of the city, marked with important locations," He said. Some of the places marked included the college campus, the police station, their hotel, and a few other places. Bogo continued. "Should you lose your cell phones, this map will come in handy." He replaced the final paper into the folder, and slid it across the desk back to Nick. He quickly looked inside the folder, and decided that he would take Bogo's advice, and look it over on the way there.

"That's pretty much all I wanted to tell you. Keep in mind that Borealis is does not have Climate Control, and since we're early in the month of March, expect chilly temperatures and some snowfall, so I advise you to bring a jacket with you." Nick looked over to Judy, a wide grin across his face. Judy rolled her eyes. "Your train leaves in half an hour. I've called a cab for you and it is waiting outside, so once you leave the office, grab your bags and leave. Dismissed!" Bogo said, adding emphasis on the last word.

Nick and Judy hopped out of the chairs left the room. They arrived back down in the foyer. They grabbed their bags, which were behind Ben's desk, and made for the exit. The air outside had warmed up a bit from when Nick had entered, and the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. Just like Bogo had said, a cab was waiting outside for them. Judy skipped over to it ahead of Nick and asked the driver to open the trunk. He obliged, and it popped open. Nick had arrived at the cab as Judy placed her bag in, and Nick did the same. They both entered the vehicle. The driver turned to face the two as they buckled up

"Where to?" he asked.

"Downtown Station, please!" Judy asked.

"No problem." the driver replied, shifting the vehicle into 'drive.'

The vehicle lurched forward, and they were off. The ride was only about ten minutes, and they thanked and said goodbye to the driver when they arrived at their destination. They fetched their bags from the trunk and Nick slapped the back of the car, signalling that they were done. The car sped off, as it most likely already had another client lined up. The two walked up the stairs toward the entrance of the station. The department had already taken care of ticket costs, so all they had to do was pick them up from the ticket booth. They entered through the large revolving doors and walked over to the ticket booth. The receptionist immediately recognized them and handed them their tickets. They both thanked her, and headed deeper into the station.

"Ticket says platform seventeen, which is...that way" Nick said, pointing toward a large overhead sign.

The sign read 'Platforms 10-19' and had an arrow pointing to the left. They both walked in the direction the sign was pointing. They walked past multiple platforms, each one heading to either a different District of the city, or to a completely different city, most of them were just small townships situated just outside the city limits. They eventually found Platform Seventeen and they took a seat on a bench facing the tracks. They didn't have to wait very long, since they got caught in the morning rush on their way there.

Not five minutes after taking their seat, Judy's ears perked up at the sound of steel against steel. She looked down the tracks and saw one of the city's easily recognizable bullet-trains pulling up to the platform. She slapped Nick on the shoulder, who had amazingly fallen asleep in such a short period of time. Nick jolted awake, confused at where he was for a moment. He looked around frantically before settling his gaze upon the massive steel beast. He calmed himself down, and grabbed his bag.

The train halted in front of the platform, and they watched as some mammals got off the train and head into the station. After they dissipated into the crowd, Nick and Judy headed toward one of the open doors. A conductor was waiting for them there and they presented their tickets. The conductor punched each one, and handed the slips back to them. Nick and Judy stowed their bags in the overhead storage space, and took their seats. Judy made sure to grab the window seat before Nick. Nick smiled and shook his head at the action, while Judy simply put on the most mocking smile she could.

"And off we go!" Judy exclaimed as the train pulled away from the platform. Nick tried his very best to look out the window. All he could see through Judy's head were the hundreds of buildings, streets and the mammals on them, passing by at high speed. Nick concluded that until they left city limits, there was nothing worth looking at. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

"How can you even try and sleep right now, Nick? This is so exciting!" Judy said, just above a whisper. Nick tried to keep his eyes shut, but the sun was now fully above the horizon, and every time they passed a building tall enough the sunlight would flicker in and out of his eyes, making it pretty much impossible to sleep.

"I don't know, Carrots, maybe I'm just not the morning mammal that you are," Nick replied. The coffee he had had earlier seemed to have done nothing for him. Judy shrugged, deciding to let the fox sleep.

"Fine, I'll wake you up when we're close then," she said.

Judy reached into the small backpack she had brought along with her larger bag and pulled out her little iPod. She set the music to shuffle and stared out the window.

Judy hummed the melody of the song as they train left the Downtown Core. The train trip was supposed to take about four hours. She'd be able to listen to her music, and Nick would be able to get some rest.

 _Hopefully he won't be as cranky once they get there._ Judy thought.

* * *

 _This idea had been bouncing around my mind, and thought I'd make a quick note about it. A few months later, I remembered I had it. So yeah, that's about it. Leave a review, preferably with some constructive criticism. Thanks! -Prince_

 _EDIT 04/26/18: I read through the chapter and fixed a few things, for example, punctuation and reducing the size of a few paragraphs. -Prince._


	2. Chapter 2 - A Few Errands

Judy spent a majority of the train ride switching between looking out the window and scrolling through social media. She repeated this cycle until about they were three and a half hours into their journey. The train was plunged into a sudden darkness, which snapped Judy away from her phone. She looked out her window to see nothing but darkness and strings of bright LED lights; they were headed through a long tunnel. She adjusted her position trying to see if she could spot the exit to the tunnel, however she saw nothing. She sat back down in her seat and sighed. She stared out the window at the strings of lights whizzing by.

A few more minutes passed and the LEDs began getting dimmer. She stood up again and tried her best to spot the exit. Before she could react, she was blinded momentarily by the natural light enveloping the train car. Judy recoiled, rubbing her eyes. When she returned to the window, she was greeted by a beautiful snow-kissed landscape. Rows upon rows of snow covered coniferous trees lined the tracks, and although the sky was overcast, it was balanced out by the large snowflakes falling from the clouds above. Judy looked back toward the way they came to see that the tunnel they had just exited had been bored through a massive mountain. At that moment, she couldn't have produced a bigger smile if she tried. She shook Nick's shoulder, and he awoke suddenly.

"What? What is it, Carrots?" Nick asked, frantically looking around the car. Judy pointed excitedly toward the window, which was beginning to fog up from the frigid exterior temperatures.

"Look outside!" she said, barely containing her smile. Nick and Judy switched seats. Nick wiped the fog off the glass and saw the exact same thing that Judy had seen, only this time, the trees were beginning to thin out. Nick turned back around to face Judy, who was also trying to snag a peek out the window again.

"So? Whaddaya think?" Judy asked. Nick scratched his neck and his ears drooped a little.

"I don't know what to tell ya, Jude. I've seen snow and pine trees before, we have 'em back home. Nothing new here," Nick replied. Judy softly punched Nick in the arm.

"No, I mean look at how pretty it is out there. All this is one hundred percent _natural_. It's not all fake or planted there by city workers, it's all real," Judy explained. Nick nodded and crossed his arms. He took another look through the glass.

"If you're so amazed by the natural aspects of the Borealis area, you'll absolutely _adore_ the architecture of the city itself," Nick said.

Judy was a little confused at Nick's statement, but right on cue, he motioned for Judy to look out the window once more. She obliged. The train had gone around a bend in the tracks, Judy's window was now overlooking the massive metropolis that was the City of Borealis. From the height they were at now, they couldn't even compete with the height of the tallest structure in the region, the Animalia Tower of Peace, standing at a modest six-hundred-seventy-five meters tall. Other skyscrapers, albeit shorter ones, surrounded the tower, making up what seemed to be the Financial District of the city. Sprawling outwards, office structures gave way to condo complexes, shorter apartment structures, and townhouses. Beyond there, a few suburbs could be distinguished by the many rows of family homes lining the snow-covered streets. Judy marveled at the sight. Since there were no Climate Walls dividing up the different neighbourhoods, it made the whole city feel even more massive.

"Whoa..." Judy said. It was all she could muster.

"Yeah, whoa. We're still a good thirty minutes from the city centre, and once we get there it'll feel a whole lot bigger," Judy didn't respond, she simply continued to stare out the window. "And one more thing before I lose you completely, it's gonna be cold once we get out there. The temperature is hovering around minus fifteen degrees Celsius. In addition to that, the wind chill value brings it down to about minus twenty, so I suggest you dig out your jacket before getting off the train," Nick added, sitting back down in his seat. Judy had already nodded off, so most of what Nick had said was just noise to her.

Judy spent the rest of the train ride into town just staring out the window watching the buildings go by. Nick on the other hand, had had just about enough of the train ride and was itching to get off. Nick's wish was granted, and the train came to a complete stop at the decently sized station in the Financial District. Nick grabbed his and Judy's bags from the overhead storage, since she wasn't able to reach. The two stepped onto the platform and walked deeper into the station. They stopped for a washroom break, and grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe. Once they were done eating, they sat for a while, deciding their plan of action.

Nick finished his water and tossed the empty cup into a nearby trash can. Judy was staring down at her phone. Nick slammed his paw on the table just hard enough to make Judy look up from the device and into his eyes.

"Now that I've got your attention, I figured out how we're gonna navigate this place today," he said. Judy raised an eyebrow. She put the phone to sleep and put it away in her pocket.

"Just how did you do that?" she asked, placing her elbows on the table and resting her head in her paws.

"Well, while you had your face pressed against the glass in that train car, I took the time to read over that file-folder that Bogo gave us," he began. Nick reached into his bag, which was placed under the table, and fetched the folder. He opened it up and spread all three sheets on the table so Judy could see.

"I looked over the map first, which has important locations marked on it. The Police Station, our hotel, and the college campus to name a few. Next, I looked over the sheet the college provided us. If you remember, the mammal we're watching over is an arctic fox. His name is Blake McInnes, and a Borealis native. It states, 'Blake is an excellent student. He is a very good listener, he keeps to himself in class, and submits very well researched assignments. I trust you will have no trouble scouting him,'" he continued. Judy nodded, taking in the new information. Her eyes narrowed a bit, and she leaned in a bit closer.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what does Blake being an excellent scholar have to do with the route you have planned?" she asked. Nick sighed.

"I was getting to that, thank you very much. Now here's what I propose we do. We grab a cab to the hotel and check in. Shouldn't be too difficult, since the rooms are already booked. After we get settled in, we head over to the BMP station. We'll walk because it's close enough to the hotel. Mind you, the ride from here to the hotel is about half an hour. Remember to bring that third paper, they need it. Once we're done there, we catch another cab to the campus, where's we'll meet with him in his dorm. Sound good?" Nick concluded, gently sweeping up all the papers on the desk back into the folder before storing it away in his bag.

"Sounds good to me, Nick, only one question, though," she said, hopping off her chair. Nick followed suit.

"And that is?" Nick asked.

"What are we doing after we're done at the college?" Nick paused. He placed a paw on his chin. After a few moments, he retracted his arm, and his ears drooped.

"Don't know, but we probably will once we get to that point," he answered. Judy huffed at his response. She rolled her eyes.

"Alright. We'd better get going then." she said. Nick nodded in agreement. He grabbed his bag from under the table and Judy followed. They headed toward the main exit. The hall just in front of the large revolving doors was filled with mammals typically found in cooler ecosystems, such as moose, wolves, foxes, coyotes, deer, and even a few hares. They walked through the revolving doors and into the outside environment for the first time.

They were greeted with a nice cool slap in the face from the North wind, followed by sheets of snowflakes hitting them from all directions, and to top it all off, the snow covered sidewalk was already starting to sting against their paws. It was by no means a good day weather-wise. Nick quickly zipped up his jacket, and was wishing he had something to cover his ears with. Judy ran back into the station so she could dig out her jacket from her bag. Nick stood outside staring back into the building, watching as she fished through the assortment of clothing items, and finally pulling out the one she was looking for. She threw it on quick as lightning and headed back outside. Nick smirked as she stopped beside him.

"Told ya it was gonna be cold, Carrots. I even asked you to get your jacket before we got off the train so we could avoid this exact situation," he said. Judy furrowed her brows and gave Nick a stare as icy as the wind felt.

"Ugh, whatever, doesn't matter now. Just find us a cab," she said bitterly. Nick walked toward the curb. Watching the cars pass, he noticed that the traffic here was far less dense than it was in Zootopia, partly because of the obvious snowstorm. He waited patiently until a green vehicle could be seen through the squall. The sign on the roof of it indicated that it was indeed a cab. Nick raised his arm, effectively hailing hailing like he had done many times back home. The vehicle made a hard right and stopped inches away from the curb, and by extension, Nick. He opened the door for Judy, and she dashed in without hesitation. Nick loaded their bags into the trunk of the car. He then entered the cab, closing the door behind him. The cab driver was a scruffy looking coyote. His features appeared tired, however his eyes still glowed as if he had never worked a day in his life.

"Where to?" he asked. His voice sounded hoarse, or was that just how he talked?

"The Princeton, please," Nick asked. The driver nodded and adjusted his cap. It was a faded red colour, and looked like it could easily be over ten years old.

"Okie doke, no problem," he replied. The driver stepped on the gas pedal, and the vehicle lurched forward onto the street.

What Nick had said earlier held true. The city looked much bigger now that they were inside of it, instead of looking at it from a distance. The skyscrapers towered above the streets below, creating an odd feeling that he nor Judy had ever experienced in Zootopia. No matter where you were in the city, the city's landmark, the Animalia Tower of Peace, was visible as it stood taller than any other structure in the area.

The ride felt shorter than it really was, and they soon arrived at their destination. Nobody talked throughout. After Nick unloaded the luggage, he paid the driver what he owed, and also gave a generous twenty dollar tip. The driver thanked him, and sped off back into the traffic flow. Nick picked up both the bags, and the two headed into the hotel.

The lobby of the Princeton Hotel was very large, and very beautiful. Large marble pillars rose from the floor to reach the vaulted ceilings above. One crystal chandelier hung in the centre of the room, providing light to the whole space. Nick placed the bags on the floor as he approached the reception desk. No one was there at that moment, so he rang the little silver bell placed there for such an occasion. A couple seconds passed, and a dapper looking lynx appeared from a door behind the counter.

"Hello, welcome to the Princeton. May I have your surname?" he asked. The lynx had a rather graceful sounding voice. It was warm, soft, and his English accent made it all the better. Nick smirked.

"While I'm flattered, I think we should spend some time getting to know each other a little better first." he said sarcastically. In return, the lynx blushed and let out a soft giggle. Judy kicked Nick in the shin lightly. Nick winced. "It's under either Wilde, or Hopps." Nick added.

The lynx glanced downward, presumably at a computer hidden beneath the desktop. A few moments passed, and he looked back up toward Nick.

"Ah, here we go. Room 1127, under Nicholas Wilde. It says here it's been prepaid-" he reached under the desk and produced two key cards, "so here are your room keys. Please don't hesitate to ask us any questions you may have, and if something isn't to your liking, give a ring to the front desk- Oh, I've completely forgotten. I'm Marley, by the way." Nick took the cards, passing one to Judy, and placed a fiver on the desk.

"No problem, thank you." Nick said.

"Pleasure's all mine. Enjoy your stay," Marley replied, offering a smile. Nick waved as he disappeared back through the same door he entered from. Judy had gone and fetched a luggage buggy from the front of the lobby, so Nick wouldn't have to lug them down the hallway. Once the bags were loaded, they headed to the elevator near the back of the room. Once inside, Judy pressed the '11' button, and they were off. Judy exited the elevator before Nick, looking for their room.

 _1124...1125...1126...1127. Here it is._

Judy stopped in front of the door and waited for Nick, who wasn't far behind. Judy used her key card to unlock the door for Nick. With a quick swipe of the card, the light on the lock turned from red to green and disengaged, allowing Judy to open the door.

The room itself was gorgeous. It had two beds, one for each of them. Two TVs, so they could both watch something different in their downtime, and a massive bathroom with a dual vanity, so they could both get ready together to save time. Not to mention the abundance of storage space, so they could simply unload their suitcases and stow them under their beds until they need to leave.

Judy ran in and hopped on the bed closest to the door, claiming it for herself. Nick unloaded the bags, and then left the buggy out in the hallway. Hopefully, a bellhop would come get it and return it downstairs. Nick dragged his and Judy's bags into the main room.

"We need to head over to the police station, but we should probably unpack our things before we head out, so we don't have to do it later,"

"Sounds good, that way when we get back, I can just collapse on the bed immediately, and I won't have to search for anything when I get up in the morning." Judy replied. Nick smiled and rolled his eyes as he unzipped his bag.

The unpacking was taken care of in half an hour. Would have been shorter, but Judy kept stopping to make everything look as neat as possible. Nick also had to drag Judy out of the large washroom, as she kept wanting to just stare at the gorgeous double vanity, spacious shower, and at how fluffy the towels were.

"Come on, Jude. We have to get to the HQ," Nick said, standing in front of the door leading out to the hallway, arms crossed. Judy huffed.

"I can't find the sheet they want," she replied, checking every drawer in her dresser. Nick raised is right arm, holding both their sheets.

"I figured you'd forget, so I picked them both up when you threw your folder onto the floor," Judy furrowed her brows, now crossing her arms.

"I was looking!" she shouted.

"A bit late, Carrots. Let's move."

Nick opened the door and motioned for Judy to exit. Judy groaned and left the room. Before Nick closed the door, he checked to see that he had his key card. He felt around and found that it was in the right pocket of his jacket. He closed the door behind him and headed toward the elevator just down the hall. As he was walking, he noticed that the buggy he had used earlier was gone.

 _Man, these guys work fast._ He thought.

They passed through the lobby to see Marley serving another guest. Nick offered a friendly wave, and the lynx smiled and returned it. The weather outside hadn't improved too much. The wind seemed to have picked up, and it was snowing harder now, creating a blowing snow effect. Nick squinted hard as soon as the frigid air hit is face. Earlier in the room, he had changed out of his stuffy work uniform, thinking he wouldn't need it. He had thrown on a loose t-shirt and a hoodie with the ZPD logo printed on the back of it. He pulled the hood over his head in hopes that it would reduce the cold, since they were walking with the wind, however, it just blew right through the fibres. Judy wasn't faring much better, either.

The walk to the station was short, but the weather outside made it feel much longer than it was. The Borealis Metropolitan Police building was just outside the Financial District, in a smaller, but similar neighbourhood called the Hill District. Ironic, considering the place was pretty flat. The structure blended in pretty well with the surrounding ones, the only indicator of it being there was the massive sign above the door. Nick opened the door and held it for Judy, then followed her inside. The place smelled of printer paper and old computers, typical for a police station. Looking around, Nick spotted the reception desk. Behind it, a white-tailed deer, typing away at the keyboard hidden from view. Nick walked up to the desk, tapping on it lightly to get the doe's attention. She looked up from the screen at Nick.

"How can we help you today, sir?" she asked politely. Nick produced his and Judy's papers from his pocket and passed them over to her. Scanning over each of them, her eyes lit up, and she turned back to her computer. A few seconds passed before the doe turned back to Nick and handed him back the papers.

"I should have know it was you two. I mean, there aren't too many fox or rabbit detectives yet. Yes, Chief Maxwell would love to speak with you for a short moment before you head out. His office is just right there," she said, pointing to a door a ways down the hall. There were some words on the door, but it was too far away to read clearly.

"Thanks." Nick replied. As they started down the hall, Judy waved at the doe. She returned with a warm smile before turning back to her work.

The wording on the door became clearer as they got closer. It read: '109: MAXWELL.' Nick and Judy exchanged looks. Nick sucked in a breath, and knocked on the door three times. No response. Nick was about to knock again, but a gruff voice spoke from the other side.

"It's open!" it yelled.

Nick looked at Judy again, who shrugged. Nick turned the knob and the large wooden door creaked as it opened. The office inside was very well kept. Binders and books were organized by either date or last name of the author, and the desk in the middle was clear of any clutter. Nick looked up to see a large moose staring back at him and Judy. He smiled.

"Detectives Nicholas Wilde, and Judy Hopps. Pleasure to meet you both. Bogo's told me a lot about the both of you. Now take a seat, get comfortable," he said.

Nick and Judy obliged, hopping into the deceptively comfortable chairs facing the moose.

"Alright, before we start, I'm gonna need those papers Bogo gave you for safety reasons."

Nick produced the papers from his pocket again, and handed them to the moose.

"Excellent, now the ball's rolling. I'm Jeremy Maxwell, chief of police for the Borealis Metropolitan Police, and I run this District, as well as the Financial District. The building we are currently in is the main headquarters for all BMP operations, and where a majority of our staff are stationed. I expect you know why you're here?" Maxwell began, shifting in his seat. Nick and Judy both nodded.

"We're here for a college co-op program, yes?" Nick asked.

"That's right. But this one is the first of its kind. Usually, we just send students over to the University of Animalia at Zootopia for this program, but since most of our detective work is outsourced to you guys over there, Fanshawe thought they'd switch it up a bit and host the program here and bring the detectives to them." he continued.

"That's pretty sweet, can't wait to participate," Judy said.

"Now, neither of you have been to Borealis before, correct?"

"Right. I've done extensive research on the city, but I'm only mildly familiar with routes and where things are," Nick answered. Maxwell nodded.

"Alright, good, good. All I really wanted to say was if you have any questions or concerns, just contact me at this number-" Maxwell produced a scrap piece of paper and a pen, and quickly scribbled out a phone number, and passed it to Nick, "-and we'll sort things out. Sound good? Good. I wish we could talk more, but it's already noon, and you two were supposed to be at the campus an hour ago..." Maxwell said, pointing at the wall clock behind him with his pen.

"Damn! How'd we lose track of time? C'mon, Judy, we gotta go now!" Nick exclaimed, standing up suddenly. Judy stood up after him. She seemed a lot calmer than she should be, and Nick noticed on the walk back down the hall.

"Hey, Judy, what gives, usually you're the one freaking out about being late," Nick said, turning the corner back toward the lobby.

"If you're already late, then why rush? It's not gonna make you _un_ -late" Judy said. Nick pondered the statement. She was right, technically. He scrambled to think of a response.

"...Because we don't want to give a poor first impression on our pupil?" Nick proposed. Judy was silent for a few moments. She looked at Nick, then to the ground in front of her.

"That's fair." she replied. Since they were late, they agreed on taking another cab. Nick hailed one and they both climbed in. The ride was quiet, and they thanked the driver when they exited just outside campus grounds. Fanshawe was one of two post-secondary centres in the city, the other being UA Borealis.

"We need to find the dorm building C. Once there, we find room one-thirteen. Simple. We should do it quick too, before we freeze out here," Nick said.

"I agree, Nick. I'm freezing," Judy replied, shivering in her spot.

The two entered the campus grounds, searching for anything that could direct them. As they were wandering around, they were lucky to run into a black bear who was on his way to class. They approached him, asking where dorm building C is. The bear pointed, and they thanked him.

Nick and Judy were happy to be inside again where it was heated. They shook the snow off their coats, and began walking down a hallway. The room number was one-thirteen, meaning it was on the first floor. Judy was grateful that there were no flights of stairs to climb.

"I cannot feel my paws, they're so cold," she mentioned.

"Same here, Carrots, same here."

They walked down the hall, until they found the door they were looking for. On the way down, each door was decorated with little items hinting at the inhabitant's personalities. However, this door was completely bare. Each door also had the last names and first initial of the inhabitant. The sign on this door read: 'McInnes, B.' This was definitely the right one.

Nick rapped on the door. The sound echoed in the hallway. The sound of a desk chair rolling across hardwood and steps could be heard from inside, and at last, Nick and Judy met their student. An arctic fox answered the door. He was still wearing his pajamas, and looked tired. He was about an inch taller than Nick. The room inside was darkened, save for the dimly lit computer monitor in one of the corners. He looked down at his visitors with an unamused expression. The way he stared at the two made Judy uncomfortable. The silence was unbearable. Neither Nick, nor Judy, wanted to speak first.

"You're late," the fox said calmly. Nick gathered the courage to speak. He opened his maw, and faltered for a second.

"Er...you must be Blake?" Nick asked. The fox nodded.

"That would be me, yes. Please come in," he said, backing up and motioning for the two to enter. Despite how dark it was, the room was very clean, completely opposite of what Nick and Judy were expecting. On top of that, it smelled of vanilla and lavender. The room was a decent size, there was a bed, his computer desk in the corner, a dining table, and presumably a washroom behind the closed door on the left wall. Blake pulled out the two dining chairs for Nick and Judy and then took his seat on his bed.

"So," Blake began. Nick and Judy's ears both peaked.

"You two are detectives at the Zootopia Police Department, eh?" he both nodded. "And you two are gonna tutor me into becoming a good detective?" They nodded again. Blake noticed that his teachers weren't talking too much, and it bothered him. "Am I intimidating you?" he asked. Judy nodded yes, but Nick finally spoke.

"No, I'm just unsure of where to start." Blake placed a paw on his chin.

"Don't know where to start? Then I supposed we should play a little game. We play it with the freshers all the time. The name of the game is called 'icebreakers,' it's where we take turns telling each other something about ourselves." Blake said coolly. Nick fell silent again, Judy continued to say nothing. Blake rolled his eyes. He didn't think talking to someone new would be this difficult, especially if they were supposed to be teaching him. "Fine, guess I'll start. You two are my idols."

* * *

EDIT 05/09/18: Fixed a few punctuation errors as well as shortened some large paragraphs. Also changed a few names around.


	3. Chapter 3 - A Breach of Peace

Nick scratched his neck, he couldn't help but smile.

'Er, thanks. That means a lot to us, right Judy?" Nick replied, turning to Judy. She nodded and sat upright. She seemed a lot less irritable after hearing his compliment.

"That's right, Nick. We put a lot into our careers and we're glad that you feel this way towards us," she said, smiling. Blake returned the grin and nodded.

"Yeah. Most of us in my class were awestruck once that case was solved. It made me want to work even harder in my studies, and it was what convinced me to take up this co-op offer. To be honest, I was hoping they'd send you two, but I was convinced that you'd be too busy with things back home," Blake replied.

"Nope, we are happy to come out and be a part of this program," Judy said. Blake smiled and let out a lighthearted chuckle.

"Alright, guys, cut the act. You don't need to act all 'professional' when it's just us here. To be honest with you, it just makes it a whole lot more awkward than it needs to be," Blake said leaning forward in his seat. Nick and Judy flinched. They were a bit confused, as they didn't believe they were putting on any kind of persona. They exchanged confused looks before turning back to Blake, whose expression had returned to being neutral.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"I mean your tone of voice for example. It sounds like you're trying to impress your boss. Also, using 'we' in that way, it sounds as if you rehearsed this conversation before. All I'm saying is you don't have to talk that way." He paused. "For lack of a better term, loosen up a bit." Nick began to understand where Blake was coming from. After a moments thought, he did realize that his tone had become a little bit more reserved than he remembered.

 _Must be all those hours I spend talking with the higher ups, never wanted them to hear my voice and think 'Wow, that's one of their top detectives? Really?_

"I think I get it now. And uh, sorry about that. Just used to speaking with my superiors, that's all." Nick replied. Blake's ears perked up, and he lifted his head. He raised his arms into a defensive position.

"Hey, don't apologize to me, just an honest mistake is all. Now that we hopefully have that all cleared up, gimme a rundown on what's going on today." Nick and Judy froze. They exchanged glances, unsure of what to tell him. They thought his professor had talked to him, or at least sent him an email, detailing that the first day was essentially just a meet-and-greet type deal, however it appears that wasn't the case. Nick opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. Judy watched as he tried before she finally spoke.

"See, the thing is, Blake...there isn't actually anything happening today," she said softly. Blake barely heard what she had said. He leaned in closer, ears peaked. Seconds passed as he processed Judy's words. He sat back in his chair, expression flat.

"If nothing's going on, then why're you here?" Blake asked, confused.

"If it helps, your tour of the station is tomorrow after lunch," Judy replied, offering a weak smile. Blake nodded.

"I guess that makes a bit of sense-" Nick and Judy stared awkwardly at Blake. He seemed to have cut himself off mid-sentence. Blake's eyes narrowed, and he placed his head in the palm of his paw. Nick smirked, and rose from his seat and went to stand beside him. Once there, he knelt down to Blake's level, and assumed the same position as him, but instead of having a serious face, he still held his smirk. Upon seeing this, Judy cracked a smile.

Nick continued to mock Blake as Blake continued. Finally, after a few more seconds, Blake lifted his head and turned to his right. Nick was still there in the position that Blake was just in. Blake placed his hands on his hips and turned to face Judy. He took one last quick peek at Nick, still unaware of the situation, then turned back to Judy. Blake stared Judy straight in the eyes and mouthed the words 'What is he doing?' to her. With that, Judy burst out into a laughing fit. Nick turned around to see Blake was no longer in his chair, but rather standing in front of him looking at Judy. Nick stood up, and stopped next to Blake.

"Nothing gets past you, huh," Nick said.

"Yeah, but apparently that's not the case with you," Blake replied, chuckling. Nick offered a weak smile.

"Ha ha." Nick said sarcastically. Nick and Blake returned to their chairs. They all felt a little cheerier after having a good laugh. Blake smiled and sighed as he sat down.

"Alright, so before Nick here assumed the role of mime, I was thinking...if you guys don't have anything to do today, maybe I could show you around the city. So you have a better idea of where everything is and how to get there," Blake said, voice fading near the end.

Nick and Judy looked toward each other. Judy thought for a moment. She had to admit, it was a pretty compelling offer, as she was pretty much just offered a free tour of the city.

"I say we do it," Judy said, breaking the silence. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"You sure, Carrots?" Judy nodded.

"Yeah, it's like a tour. Plus, we'll be able to talk in between destinations," she replied.

"So that's a yes?" Blake asked, smiling. Nick finally replied after some consideration.

"I suppose so. I'm in."

"Sweet! Let's go, my car's just out front. Follow me." Blake exclaimed.

Blake rose from his seat and headed to the door, with Nick and Judy in tow. Blake grabbed a black windbreaker from rack on the wall and opened the door. He felt around the pockets of the jacket, finding his key in the left one. He took a step out into the hallway before turning back to face Nick and Judy, who had finished zipping up their coats. He stared with a small smile.

"One more thing." He paused. "What's with the 'Carrots' thing? You guys have nicknames for each other?" Blake asked.

Judy turned to Nick, expecting to see him all flustered, shying away from Blake's gaze. But instead, she saw him staring Blake right in the eyes, with his signature smirk plastered on his face.

"Nah, I just have the one for her," he said coolly.

Blake alternated between Nick and Judy. He sucked a breath in, and turned around.

"Right then," he replied, his tone hinted a bit of disappointment.

The three of them marched down the hall into the lobby and out the front door. There it was again, the whipping, howling winds, strong enough to pierce even the thickest of coats. Nick immediately pulled his hood over his head. Judy was already shivering. She felt that the wind was the worst part of cold weather. She turned her attention to Blake, who was still trudging forward down the walkway, seemingly unfazed by the cold air.

"Blake, aren't you cold?" she called out. Blake looked back at Judy, and he shook his head.

"Nah, I've lived here all my life, I'm well acquainted with the cold. It might also be worth mentioning that I'm and arctic fox, so it doesn't really affect me anyway," Blake replied, facing forward again. Judy didn't reply. She was focused on trying not to freeze. They arrived in a small parking lot not far from the building. It was filled with vehicles of varying sizes and colours. Nick and Judy scanned the lot as they walked, while Blake continued forward.

They stopped in front of a small, black hatchback. It was in relatively good condition, looked almost brand new. Blake fished out a keyring from his pocket. On it, a remote starter. He clicked one of the buttons and the doors of the vehicle made the trademark 'click' of being unlocked. Blake motioned toward the vehicle.

"Well, hop in," he said, opening the driver door.

Nick swiped the passenger seat, and Judy was forced to sit in the back. Upon sitting down on the material, Nick instantly felt how cold the fabric was. It was just as unpleasant as he'd remembered. Last time he felt this was a few weeks back, when they had to go meet with a client in Tundratown over a break-and-enter case. Nick shivered. He looked back to see Judy wasn't faring much better. He turned back to face the front as Blake started the engine.

"Sorry 'bout the cold seats. Haven't gotten used to having remote start, my old car never had it. I got that car for my eighteenth birthday from my grandparents. It quit on me a few months back, and I was able to lease this here new one," Blake said as he cranked up the heater. The heater hadn't had time to actually warm up yet, so it was just blowing cold air from outside, making their situation temporarily worse.

"That's fine, don't worry about it. Everyone forgets something sometimes," Judy said, trying to be as comforting as possible.

"Yeah, anyways, where do you wanna go first?" Blake asked, leaning to face Nick and Judy.

"I wanna see the Peace Tower!" Judy blurted out quickly. She quickly covered her mouth with her paws and apologized for the outburst.

Blake blinked. "Alright, Peace Tower it is." Blake turned back to face the steering wheel and he shifted the vehicle into drive. He manoeuvred the vehicle out of the parking lot and onto the street. They began picking up speed, and the campus disappeared behind them.

They had been driving for about two minutes and the silence in the car was absolutely unbearable, especially for Blake. He turned on the radio, but it didn't seem to help too much. Blake thought for a moment as he stared at the road ahead.

"You guys want a bit of trivia on the thing?" Blake asked sheepishly.

Judy snapped away from the window and scooted into the middle seat. Nick withdrew his attention from the road and looked at Blake, who looked was smiling awkwardly at the road ahead.

"I'd like that, go ahead," Judy replied, leaning in as close as the seat belt would allow.

"Sure, hit me," Nick replied as well. Blake's expression returned to a more lively state. He reached for a knob on the dash and turned the radio's volume all the way down. He returned his paw back to the steering wheel and gripped it tightly.

"Alright, so, Borealis was founded a few years after Zootopia, right? Pretty much the same premise as well, y'know, predator and prey agree to live in harmony, etcetera, etcetera. For the city's hundred-seventy-fifth anniversary, a monument was proposed to commemorate the milestone. Originally, it was supposed to be a bronze statue in front of the municipal building, but somehow, they just kept talking and talking until they finally agreed on making the monument the tallest structure in the area, standing at a modest six-hundred-seventy-five metres. It was named the Animalia Tower of Peace, and soon after that, construction began. Took 'em four years to complete. They had to pour the concrete in a continuous stream to avoid creating weak points in the structure," Blake said. Judy had been absolutely captivated by Blake's impromptu history lesson. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and her mouth was slightly agape.

"Wow! That's so neat! Now I really wanna get there!" Judy exclaimed, sitting back in the seat properly. Nick nodded, satisfied with Blake's little paragraph.

"I remember reading up on the Tower before coming here. Apparently it cost upwards of two-hundred-fifty million dollars when adjusted for price inflation," Nick said. Blake slapped himself in the forehead.

"Ah, right. How could I forget the cost?" Blake said. He looked into his rear view mirror, and looked at Judy's reflection. "Yeah, sorry about that. Super expensive project. But it seems to have paid off, considering it's Borealis' largest tourist attraction," Blake continued. "You'll love it, trust me."

They continued down the city streets. They had just entered the Financial District, meaning that they weren't too far off now. A few minutes beforehand, Blake had turned the radio back on. At first, it was eerily quiet besides the music playing, but after a song by Gazelle came on, Judy couldn't help herself. She began to sing along with the radio, garnering a lighthearted smile from Nick. Blake was admittedly confused at her actions, he wasn't used to his passengers bursting out into song at random. Nick leaned closer to Blake, and whispered loud enough for him to hear, but quiet enough for Judy not to hear.

"Whenever I'm driving the cruiser back home, the exact same thing happens. If it's Gazelle, she's gonna sing regardless," he said.

Now a little bit calmer, Blake turned his attention back to the road. The buildings towered overhead, casting light shadows onto the city streets below. It was now around the time where most mammals are out of school and where some are finishing work, so the streets were much more crowded. The sidewalks were just as, if not more crowded. On the bright side, their destination wasn't to far off now.

They drove another five minutes down the road before getting stuck in gridlock traffic. Blake slapped the steering wheel in frustration. He leaned around in his seat trying to find the cause, but his search turned up nothing.

"Traffic's never this bad, what's going on here?" he asked aloud.

"Maybe something happened up ahead," Judy suggested, her face showing concern. Blake furrowed his brows and crossed his arms as he leaned back in the seat.

"That's very possible, but I really hope it's just some tourist who doesn't know how to drive in the city."

Right as he finished his sentence, the traffic seemed to be flowing again, and they were back on their way. Blake turned off the main street to avoid future incidents and continued down one of the side streets. This proved to be beneficial, as they were approaching their destination quicker than they would have if they continued on the boulevard. Blake pulled the car into a parking spot on the side of the road. They exited the vehicle, and Blake put an hour's worth of money into the parking meter.

Even from where they were standing, the Tower of Peace dwarfed all nearby skyscrapers. It was tall enough that it hurt their necks to look up so sharply. They began walking down the sidewalk. They walked about fifty metres before turning a corner down another street. As they rounded the corner, they were greeted with about five police cruisers and another large vehicle belonging to the P.D. Blake's expression fell, as well as Nick's and Judy's.

"Oh, no," Blake said, sprinting up to get a better look. Nick and Judy followed closely behind. Barriers were set up on the street and the sidewalk to stop any citizens from getting too close to the scene. Standing in front of one of the blocks on the street keeping watch, was Chief Maxwell. He held out his hoof in front of Blake who had just arrived in front of him.

"Sorry, no pedestrians allowed through here at this time. You're gonna have to take the detour around Mountjoy." he said, staring Blake down with a glare that could kill.

"What's going on?" Nick asked, walking up behind Blake. Blake turned around to see them standing behind him.

"Nick? Judy? What're you doing here?" Maxwell asked.

Nick sighed, and scratched his head.

"Heh, well, we _were_ gonna do some sightseeing with Blake here, but apparently there's a situation going on," he replied. Maxwell nodded, putting his outstretched arm down.

"So you're Blake, eh?"

Blake nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You're the co-op student, aren't you. Sorry, I didn't recognize you with that jacket on. Also, sorry about us having to meet in these circumstances. I'm Jeremy Maxwell, Chief of Police," Maxwell continued, holding out a hoof. Blake took it, and he was pulled into a tight shake with the moose. After Maxwell released him, Blake rubbed his now aching paw.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Blake said.

"I'd still like to know what's going on here," Nick said, interrupting the Chief.

"It's a little difficult to explain. I think it'd be better if I just show you," Maxwell said solemnly. Maxwell stepped over the barricade, motioning for the trio to follow suit. They walked a few metres into the sizable plaza in front of the entrance to the Tower of Peace. An ambulance was parked on the paving stones. Inside, the paramedics were treating a small brown hare for what seemed to be minor cuts, scrapes, and . . . bite-marks?

Further down the plaza, two officers, both brown bears, were wrestling to get control over a Grey wolf, who was thrashing about in his restraints. The wolf was cuffed and muzzled, and was having no luck in getting away from his captors.

Judy gasped at the sight, and Nick's eyes widened. Blake simply watched intensively as the officers hauled the wolf off the premises and into the back of a truck.

"Witnesses say that the wolf just- suddenly attacked the hare. It seemingly came out of nowhere, and we don't know what caused it," Maxwell stated.

Nick stared solemnly at the ground, and kicked a bit of bunched up snow around.

"I'm certain I know what happened, Chief," he said quietly.

"What? What happened?" Maxwell asked frantically. Nick took a moment to collect himself. He took a shaky breath in, and stared Maxwell in the eye.

"I really hate to say this, but from what I've seen...he appears to have gone savage."

"Savage?" Maxwell repeated. Nick nodded.

"That's right. The thing is, though, I just don't understand how. I mean, Bellwether's still in prison, and we tracked down all her accomplices. We also confiscated all the recipes for making the Night Howler Serum. There should be no way, unless..." Nick paused. The group was quiet, waiting impatiently for Nick to continue. Nick sighed.

"We only caught all of her cronies based in _Zootopia._ We never even thought of her having any contacts outside of the city," Nick concluded.

"Oh no," Judy said. She was on the verge of tears.

Maxwell shook his head.

"We have to get to the bottom of this ASAP. Who knows what could happen if this should continue." he sucked a breath in. "We can't get any work done now, though. Today, we need to worry about keeping civilians calm, and more importantly, safe. I'll need to see you two tomorrow at the HQ."

"Got it." Nick and Judy said together.

"One more thing, bring Blake with you." They nodded.

Out of the corner of his eye, Maxwell spotted a van pull up to the barriers. On the side, a decal that read 'AN News Borealis.' Maxwell growled.

"See you tomorrow, nine A.M. Sharp. The media's probably gonna wanna talk with me," he said, stepping off in the direction of the van. The trio began their walk back to Blake's car. None of them were in a good mood. Blake unlocked the doors to the vehicle, and they all stepped in.

"Savage predators in Borealis. I can't believe it. I don't want to believe it," Nick said angrily. Blake turned around to face the group. His expression was far from chipper. He shook his head back and forth.

"This is gonna tear the city apart. Why'd it have to be at the Tower of Peace of all places," he said.

"We can't let this continue. We have to solve this as quickly as we can before predators and prey start turning on each other," Judy added. Blake started the engine, and they sped off. Anything to be away from the crime scene.

The ride home was a quiet one, the only time anyone spoke was when Blake asked Nick and Judy where they were staying. After dropping them off at their hotel, Blake returned to his dorm and plopped himself down on his bed. Despite it being only four o'clock, he was drop-dead tired. He rolled over and stared at the darkened ceiling. He thought back to the constant stream of news articles coming out of Zootopia during the whole Night Howler situation. He remembered the countless anti-predator pieces flooding his social media feeds. Blake frowned.

 _What if Borealis becomes like that in wake of all this?_

It hurt him to think about the possibilities.

* * *

 _Another chapter finished. Thanks for checking it out, more is on the way, as this is far from over. -Prince_

 _EDIT 06/29/18: Punctuation errors corrected._


	4. Chapter 4 - To Find a Lead

He hadn't remembered when he'd fallen asleep. All he knew is that it was one of those naps that, instead of refreshing you, made you feel worse. Blake rubbed his eyes and groaned. He rolled over to check the time on his alarm clock. The red glow of the numbers hurt his eyes, he squinted to avoid further pain. The clock read four-thirty A.M. Blake sat up on the edge of his bed. He reached for the clock, to make sure that it wasn't broken. After a thorough inspection, he concluded that it was, in fact, not broken, and he had slept a full twelve hours and woke up at four in the morning. Blake rolled back over onto his bed and closed his eyes, hoping to go back to sleep.

Blake opened his eyes once more. He glanced over at his clock, the laser-like glow it gave off didn't cause as much pain as before. The clock read: five A.M. Blake sighed.

 _I suppose I'm not gonna get any more sleep than this, am I?_ He thought.

Blake groaned once more, rolling over to the edge of his bed. He stood up straight and stretched his back. He trudged over to the window next to his computer desk. The parking lot outside was dark, only lit up by the streetlights spaced around the few vehicles that were parked there. He then walked over to his dresser, and fetched a pair of sweatpants and a grayscale tie-dye t-shirt. He walked across the space toward his washroom and turned on the light. The light the LED bulbs gave off stung his eyes even worse than the clock, and Blake recoiled at the brightness. Covering his eyes with a paw, he reached around for the tub faucet. He turned on the water and adjusted the temperature to his liking. His eyes had gotten used to the bright light by now, and he was able to uncover his eyes. He stripped out of yesterday's clothes and stepped in, allowing the water to wake him up.

Once he was done, he dried off his fur with a soft towel, put on the clothes he had picked out earlier, and exited the washroom. He walked over to the door leading out to the hallway and flipped the light switch next to it, allowing for light to flood the space. The time was now five-thirty A.M., a good three and a half hours from when he normally woke up. Not knowing what to do with himself, Blake headed over to his computer desk, and plopped himself down in the office chair in front of it. He reached down under the desk and pressed the power button to his PC, and the machine roared to life. Once his desktop booted up, he clicked on his internet browser icon. As it loaded, he stepped away from the desk toward the fridge, and grabbed the last energy drink can. Blake stared at the can for a second, and sighed. He had already admitted to himself that drinking these was a bad habit of his, but he shrugged his doubts away as he cracked it open and took a swig. He placed the can on a coaster next to his keyboard, and sat back down in his chair. His homepage had loaded up, and he scrolled down, reading the headlines. Most of them were mundane things, such as

 **SHIRTS Borealis raises $50 000 for Salvation Army**

 **Mayor Introduces new Shelter/Soup Kitchen to aid Homeless Mammals**

As he scrolled, one in particular caught his eye.

 **Savage Predator Attacks Prey at the Animalia Tower of Peace.**

Blake clicked the link, which lead him to the ZNN website. He began reading the article. It was dated with yesterday's date

 _Tragedy out of Borealis today, as a predator has attacked a prey at the Animalia Tower of Peace. Around two o'clock this afternoon, Borealis Metropolitan Police received a distressed 9-1-1 call from a young rabbit, saying that his friend had began attacking him out of the blue. Authorities arrived on the scene shortly after, and incarcerated the predator, who was showing 'uncivilized, almost feral tendencies, snarling and biting' one officer said. The names of the two mammals are being withheld as the investigation continues. Our field reporters were able to get a brief word in with Borealis Chief of Police, Jeremy Maxwell. 'Details on the case are limited at this time, and an investigation on the matter is already in the works. We urge residents of Borealis to keep watch, and to contact us if you have any information you'd like to share.' We were unable to get any more info from Maxwell. ( **THIS IS A LIVE STORY, STAY TUNED TO ZNN FOR 24/7 COVERAGE)**_

Blake nodded solemnly. He reached for the aluminium can on his desk and took a small sip. He scrolled down the page to the comments section of the article. Ever since he was a teen, he always held a mindset that comment sections were the absolute worst places on the internet, and it held true this time. The top comment thread was always terrible.

 _GreatWhiteNorth: Oh, good lord. First Zootopia, now here? I say we take care of the predator issue before it has chance to spread. Put 'em all under house arrest so they can't hurt nobody._

 _Dangerous_Milo: GreatWhiteNorth sure, leave it to the flat-tooth to pin this on all preds._

 _GreatWhiteNorth: Dangerous_Milo what's with the speceist remarks, dude?_

 _Dangerous_Milo: GreatWhiteNorth says the guy that stated 'all preds should be placed under house arrest.' Go spout your hateful speech somewhere else._

Something about this comment thread in particular made him sick to his stomach. As much as he hated it, he continued reading through the comments section, each comment filling him with more anger.

 _It was only one attack, and everyone's already up in arms, blaming each other. I hope this gets resolved soon..._ He thought.

His concentration was broken when a quiet, but hurried rapping was coming from his door. He rose from the office chair and trudged over to open it. Standing in the hallway, already in uniform, Nick and Judy, both wearing solemn expressions. Blake checked the alarm clock on his nightstand. Six A.M.

"What're you two doing here so early?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

We...told you that we were coming, right? I distinctly remember telling you that yesterday." Nick replied, face shifting to a look of confusion.

Blake shook his head.

"No. You didn't." Blake replied.

Nick looked around the room before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, we're here now, so grab your junk and let's go. We have an investigation to continue."

Blake groaned. He headed back into the room and grabbed his can, his phone, his keys, and his windbreaker. He shut off his monitor, followed by the light, and joined the other two in the hallway. He followed Nick and Judy out down the hallway, and out to the front of the residence building. Parked outside the door, was a BMP cruiser. Nick and Judy got in the front seats, Nick driving, and Blake was forced to sit in the back.

"You're lucky I was awake, otherwise I would have never heard you knocking." Blake said, buckling his seat belt.

Neither detective responded, the air was dead, not to mention cold.

"Anyway, anything new on the case?"

The cruiser lurched forward, leaving the residence section of the campus behind.

"Yes. As we figured, foul play is definitely...in play here. The wolf was hit the same way they were back in Zootopia, with little paintball-like pellets filled with the serum. Here's the thing, though. The hospital tells us, that when the antidote was administered, nothing happened. Like, absolutely nothing. So whoever did this, engineered a new strain of the Night Howler garbage, specifically to be immune to the antidote. The guys in the lab are calling it, 'Serum 741021.' Don't ask, I don't know either." Nick said, not looking away from the road.

Blake pondered the new information for a few moments.

"I'm a bit lost here, could you clarify what you said?" Blake asked.

Nick looked at Blake through the rear-view mirror and smiled.

"Don't worry too much, Blake. Maxwell is going in-depth about it later this morning. We already established that we're going to visit the rabbit in hospital later this morning as well. He is nineteen year old Jay Arlington. He suffered minor injuries, but doctors wanted to keep him in hospital overnight to make sure that he's completely okay. The visit is happening at ten. Until then... we search for leads, witnesses, anything." Nick continued.

During the entire time Nick was talking, Blake hadn't noticed they had arrived within the Financial District already, meaning they weren't too far from the station.

"Hey, before we get to the station...have you see the horrible crap people are posting on social media, I think I spent a good half hour reading comments, with shade and blame being thrown left and right." Blake mentioned.

Judy turned to face Blake.

"We try to avoid looking at stuff mammals post online during times like this, because remaining unbiased is important." she said.

Blake nodded.

The cruiser pulled up in front of the station, and all three mammals stepped out. The snow-covered sidewalk stung at Blake's paws, but he endured, following Nick and Judy up the stairs and into the building. Blake was led into a room a little offside the middle of the building. The blinds were drawn, and the lights inside were a dim, warm colour. Sheets upon sheets of paper covered the large conference table in the middle of the room. Judy closed the door behind them, and motioned for Blake to take a seat. The clock that hung above the door read eight o'clock. Nick and Judy took a seat across from Blake, who was still immensely confused at the current situation. A few moments passed, and Chief Maxwell entered the room, and took a seat at the head of the table, underneath a large flatscreen.

"Glad you could make it, Blake. For a while, I thought it would be too early." Maxwell said, offering a lighthearted chuckle.

Blake returned the chuckle, although it was obvious that it was forced.

Maxwell adjusted himself in his chair, and shifted his gaze to Nick and Judy.

"Did you two fill him in about what we know so far?

Nick and Judy both nodded.

"Good. So, the only real witness we have here, is Jay. And once the antidote for this new serum is developed, we'll have another witness, seventeen year old Brett Marshall." Maxwell continued.

"So what then, we're just gonna sit here and wait until we can go see Jay?" Nick asked impatiently.

Maxwell shook his head.

"What then?" Nick asked again, tossing his arms up in frustration.

Blake was in his own little world at that moment. His eyes scanned the table. Those sheets upon sheets of paper were case files for the Zootopia Night Howler case. He picked up a random one and read over it. It was a legal document, about the imprisonment of former Zootopia mayor Dawn Bellwether. For her crimes, she received a combined sentence of fifteen years in a maximum security correctional facility.

"What about Bellwether?" Blake blurted out. He quickly covered his mouth afterwards.

All conversation in the room ground to a halt, and all eyes were on Blake.

"What?" Nick said, confused.

Blake sank into his seat.

"Spit it out, boy." Maxwell said, leaning in on Blake.

Blake sank further into his seat.

"I was thinking...maybe she knows something. I mean, it might be a longshot, but hey, she might have something to say."

Maxwell's eyes lit up.

"That's actually not a bad idea, newbie. Only one problem." Maxwell began.

"Bellwether's all the way back in Zootopia, and there's no way she could orchestrate something like this from a prison cell." Judy added.

"Yeah, and all her accomplices in the city were detained in the following weeks, so doesn't really leave much, does it?" Nick said.

Blake nodded.

"Mhmm. You said all her accomplices in the _city,_ did you even look outside city limits?" Blake asked.

Nick paused. He came to a sudden realization.

"Dammit." was all he said. He hung his head in shame.

"So my suggestion still stands then. We go interrogate Bellwether about operations outside Zootopia. Here, I'll even pay for the train tickets." Blake said.

"No need, private, since this is BMP business, the expenses are covered." Maxwell added.

"Oh, alright." Blake replied, barely above a whisper.

"Okay, lemme get this straight. We're going to Zootopia, to talk to a criminal, right? But ah, here's the catch. She probably won't talk to any of us. Judy and I because we're the ones who threw her in there, and Maxwell because he's Chief of Police, and finally, she won't even talk to Blake, because he's just a nobody to her."

Judy entered the conversation.

"That's the genius of it, Nick, since she doesn't know Blake, she'll most likely open up to him." she added.

"But Blake's a predator. She hates preds. She'll never talk to him, just for that reason." Nick replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I could pose as one of those self-hating preds." Blake added.

Judy stared at Nick, smirking. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Alright, you got me beat. Let's do it. By the way, when is this happening? Remember the attack victim we're supposed to see?" Nick said.

"Yes, we remember Jay. Here's the plan. You and Judy go interview Jay at the hospital, while I escort Blake to the penitentiary to talk to Bellwether. This round trip is gonna take pretty much all day, so we'll rendezvous back here...say six P.M. Sound good?" Maxwell asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. It's nine o'clock now, so we'd better get rolling. Blake, follow me. You two, dismissed." Maxwell said, rising from his seat and heading to the door.

Nick and Judy had already gathered all their belongings and were out the door by the time Blake had grabbed all of his. Nick and Judy walked back toward the entrance of the building, while Maxwell lead Blake deeper into the building. Maxwell eventually lead him outside through what was presumably the back door. Maxwell ushered Blake into a different cruiser, and Maxwell got into the driver's seat. He started the engine, and they were on their way to the train station.

"If this works, we could be on our merry way to finding out who caused this horrible tragedy." Maxwell said.

Blake sighed.

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then that's okay, it's a learning experience." Maxwell replied.

They arrived at the train station, and Maxwell parked the cruiser in a nearby lot. The two of them walked into the station, and Maxwell purchased their tickets using the department's credit card. Thankfully, a train to Zootopia was leaving in ten minutes, and they had arrived just in time.

Once the wait was over, they boarded the train, and they were off. As the train departed city limits, Blake looked down onto the sprawling metropolis below. Blake had never left the city before, and going to the biggest city in the area was admittedly a bit frightening. But since it was for a good cause, he pushed all his anxieties to the back of his mind, and stared out the window, as the train entered a dark, long tunnel.

* * *

 _Hope you enjoy this chapter! -Prince_


	5. Chapter 5 - Nothing to do With Ewe

Blake sat staring out the window for most of the train ride. The scenery change in between the two cities interested him, the hardy birch trees and coniferous varieties he was used to slowly transitioned to a more soft wooded breeds such as oak and maple. Chief Maxwell was in the seat next to him, muzzle buried in his phone. About an hour away from city limits, Maxwell put his phone away in his pocket. He tapped Blake on the shoulder, breaking his concentration on the woods outside. Blake turned and looked up at Chief Maxwell.

"Okay, I've spent the whole ride so far talking to Zootopia's Chief of Police, Chief Bogo, about our little visit. It took a little bit of convincing, but he eventually gave us the green light, and everything is set up." he began. Maxwell briefly glanced at his watch, then back to Blake. "It's noon now, meaning if we're going to be back by the time I said we would, you'll only have about an hour to get as much as you can out of Bellwether. Any info is appreciated, so don't feel pressured."

Blake shifted in his seat. He was pretty ecstatic when they had liked his proposal in the conference room, but now that he was actually taking part in an investigation, an incredibly important investigation at that, saying that he was anxious was a massive understatement. Blake stared at his paws, which were clasped together to keep from fidgeting.

"I gotta be honest with you, Chief, I'm a bit nervous." Blake said shakily. He cleared his throat in hopes of drawing his attention away from his dialect. He noticed that his breathing was a bit shaky as well, so he did his best to regulate it. Maxwell's expression turned from one of seriousness, to one of sympathy. A small smile spread across his face. He placed a large hoof on Blake's shoulder

"You know something? You remind me of a younger me. When I first joined the force. Nervous, shaky like you are right now." he began.

Blake sank further into his seat. Maxwell decided it was best to save him the life story and cut to the chase.

"What I'm trying to get at is- don't think about it too much. The more you think about it, the worse off you'll be."

Blake was unsure as how to take Maxwell's advice. It's clear that the intention to make him feel better was there, but the way he worded it made it sound as if he was just trying to dismiss his feelings. However, the more he thought about it, he realized that Maxwell was right.

"Thanks." Blake replied quietly. He felt that the least he could do was thank the moose for his effort.

Blake turned back toward the window. Something was reflecting light in the distance. Blake narrowed his eyes to get a better focus on the object. As the train drew nearer, he recognized it as a skyscraper. The train passed over a small incline, bringing the rest of the city into view. They had finally arrived within city limits of the sprawling megalopolis that was Animalia's crowned jewel, as well as capital: Zootopia. Blake's jaw dropped. He was looking at not even twenty percent of the whole city, and he was completely speechless. Before he could make a comment, his view of the city was immediately cut off by the large leaves of towering tropical trees. The train had just entered the Rainforest District. Artificial rain began battering the windows of the train cars, causing Blake to pull his head away from the window. Maxwell was smiling down at him.

"Quite the sight to behold, eh? Yeah, this place is just breathtaking. This is your first time here?" Maxwell asked.

Blake nodded furiously.

"Hmm. Shame we won't have time to look around then. Anyway, once the train reaches the station, Bogo is gonna be there to pick us up and drive us to the facility. The building is located a ways away from the hustle and bustle of the downtown core. Once there, Bogo will escort you onto prison grounds and into the building, where an officer will set you up with Bellwether. Remember what you're there for. Get whatever you can, and get out. Got it?" Maxwell explained, not breaking eye contact with Blake.

"Got it. Anything else I should know?"

Maxwell thought.

"Not really. Remember your act."

Blake nodded. At that moment, Blake thought of something that hadn't occurred to him earlier.

"What if Bellwether suspects me of something, and won't talk?" Blake asked.

"You two'll be under supervision by the warden, and another officer. Also, Bellwether doesn't really have anything to lose by telling you. She's already locked up, and cooperating with us might take some years off her sentence, so it's a good incentive to tell us what she knows." Maxwell replied.

Satisfied with his answer, Blake nodded, and turned back to the window, looking over the neighborhood below.

The ride to the station was relatively short, and they had arrived at twelve-fifteen, almost an hour early. Blake and Maxwell stepped off the train together, and walked deeper into the station. Blake went to grab a light snack, since he hadn't eaten anything yet, while Maxwell kept an eye out for Bogo. By the time Blake returned, Maxwell had already found Bogo and they were already having a conversation. Blake slowed his pace as he approached the two chiefs, trying to make his presence as small as possible. Just as he was ten feet away from them, Bogo looked over Maxwell's shoulder, making a confused face at him. Blake's ears dropped, and his eyes widened. Bogo turned his attention back to Maxwell.

"Is that the one you were telling me about?" he asked, pointing over Maxwell's shoulder, directly at Blake. Blake froze.

Maxwell turned around and smiled.

"Yup, that's him. Blake, this is Chief Bogo. He's the mammal in charge around here." he said. Maxwell stepped aside, allowing Bogo and Blake to face each other. Bogo stared down at the fox, who was still frozen.

 _Don't think about it._

Blake held out one of his paws, which caught both Maxwell and Bogo by surprise. Regardless, Bogo grabbed it with one of his massive hooves, and shook it.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. McInnes." Bogo said, folding his arms over his chest.

"It's good to meet you too, sir." Blake replied, absentmindedly rubbing the paw that Bogo had shaken.

Bogo took a breath in.

"Right then, no wasting time, we have a job to do. Follow me, you two." he said, heading for one of the exits.

Maxwell and Blake exchanged glances before walking off to catch up with him.

Bogo had led them out of the station and into the street. The station they had gotten off at just so happened to be the main station situated in the Downtown Core. Blake, once again, was rendered speechless by how nice it looked. The buildings all looked different to one another, almost as if they were themed. It was definitely a nice change of scenery over the slate grey concrete, steel, and clear glass structures back home. Bogo led them to a ZPD squad car, and motioned for them to get in. Once buckled up, they were off, headed toward wherever the facility was.

Blake remained silent for most of the ride there. He also noticed that both Maxwell and Bogo were both pretty quiet as well, save for a few small conversations here and there that lasted less than thirty seconds. Out of the blue, the cruiser departed from the main road, and onto a smaller dirt road. Large trees lined both sides, making it easy to miss if you weren't paying close attention. Blake could only guess where this road lead. Bogo cleared his throat, gaining Blake and Maxwell's attention.

"This road leads directly to the prison. We'll be greeted by a few guards at the gate, but they should be informed about our visit, and we should get through no problem. Once we park the car, we will be granted access through the main entrance, and we'll have a small conversation with Warden Nathan Stanley." he began.

Blake was only half paying attention, as he was watching the trees whizz by the vehicle as they travelled down the winding dirt road.

"Now, Mr. McInnes, you'll need to hear this, as Maxwell and I aren't going to be accompanying you to see Bellwether."

Blake ears peaked, and he turned away from the window at the mention of his surname.

"Yup, I'm listening." he replied, looking at Bogo through the rear view mirror.

Bogo continued. "Right. So, Stanley, as well as another officer, will take you a private visiting room, where you and Bellwether will speak. The officer will be outside the door to keep you from being interrupted."

"Once you're done, Stanley will escort you back to the front, where we will be waiting to take you back to the train station." Bogo concluded. The trees around the road began to thin out, and sunlight began to pierce the blanket of leaves to create little patches of light on the road. Up ahead, a large, grey, concrete and steel structure stood in the middle of a field, surrounded by tall grasses. A sign on the right hand side of the road read 'Zootopia District Maximum Security Correctional Facility.' "I do hope you were actually listening, because we're here." Bogo added.

Just as Bogo had said, they were stopped at the gate by two officers in uniform. As they approached the vehicle, Bogo grabbed a card off of the dashboard and presented it to one of the officers. The other officer gave Blake a strange look through the window. To Blake, it was kind of justified, considering he was the only one there who wasn't in a uniform of some kind. The two officers soon departed, and the large, chain-link gate rolled open in front of them. Bogo stepped on the gas pedal, and the cruiser drove onto prison property. Bogo pulled the cruiser into an open parking space near the front entrance. He cut the power to the engine, and all three of them piled out onto the asphalt. Blake made sure to stand behind Maxwell and Bogo as they walked up the steps, just in case something were to happen. Bogo pressed a small white button next to the doors of the building, a second passed, and a loud click could be heard. The doors had been unlocked. Bogo pulled on the handle, and lead Maxwell and Blake inside. The entrance was more pleasant looking than Blake had previously thought, there were some couches, and even a TV, presumably for those waiting to see someone.

"Bogo!" a voice called. A rather large looking tiger was walking toward them, he wore a long black trench coat, and a black stetson rested upon his head. An expensive looking cigar hung from the bottom lip of his muzzle. Bogo's expression shifted to surprise.

"Er- Warden Stanley. I didn't expect to see you so early." he replied.

Stanley let out a hearty chuckle.

"Nonsense, Bogo. I'm always here. Now, where is that fox you were talking about?" Stanley asked.

Blake walked out from behind Bogo and Maxwell, offering a wave. He made sure that he wasn't showing any signs of being nervous.

"That would be me, sir." Blake said.

Stanley looked down toward the arctic fox in front of him. He held out a paw for him to shake.

"The name's Nathan Stanley, but you can call me Warden." he said.

Blake returned the paw-shake, and introduced himself.

"Blake McInnes. It's nice to meet you." Blake replied.

"Right then. I understand you have a job to do, and I am happy to assist you with that job." Stanley looked around. He stopped on a group of guards who were chatting away near a water cooler. He pointed toward a black panther. "Hey, Stewart, come with me." he said. The panther said his goodbyes to his coworkers, and joined Stanley and Blake, who had already started down one of the halls.

"What do you need, Warden?" he asked.

"Go get 101a from her cell and escort her to two-sixteen. The fox will be waiting for you there. I'll also need you to keep watch outside the door. He does not want to be interrupted. Understood?"

The panther nodded.

"Yes, right away Warden." he replied. He disappeared down a different hall, presumably toward the one of the cell blocks. Stanley, lead Blake down a different hallway. They stopped in front of a white door. The door had no windows, and a small steel plate with the number '216' engraved into it was screwed to the cinder block walls. Stanley fished a keyring from one of the many pockets of his trench coat and flipped each key around until he found the right one. He inserted the key into the lock on the doorknob and the door opened. Inside, there was a decent sized plastic table with two chairs one either side. Stanley motioned for Blake to take a seat, he obliged.

"Sit tight, fox, she'll be here any moment." Stanley said.

A few minutes passed, and the door to the room suddenly opened. A small ewe wearing a black prison jumper was escorted into the room by the same panther from before. After making sure she was seated in the chair across from Blake, the panther gave Stanley a nod, and stepped out of the room. Blake looked into the sheep's eyes through her oversized glasses. They were green, normally a pleasant colour, but the sheep's eyes were cold, lifeless, tired even. She scowled at Blake, who leaned back in his chair.

Stanley stepped out of the room shortly after, not saying a word. They heard the click of the door locking. Bellwether rolled her eyes She returned her gaze to Blake, who was leaning on the table. Blake cleared his throat.

"I understand that you masterminded the attacks on Zootopia predators, yes? Blake asked.

"What's it to you?" she spat back, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm an admirer of your work, and i was wondering if you could point me in the right direction." Blake lied.

"And just why should I help you? You're a pred." Bellwether replied, adding emphasis on the last word.

"See, that's just it. I'm a pred, who hates preds, like you do. I figured the best thing I can do is help out the prey." Blake said, offering a small smile.

Bellwether's dark eyes lit up for a moment, before returning to their previous state. She didn't reply.

"I'm from Borealis, up north. A there was recently a savage attack on a rabbit there."

"Is that so?" Bellwether replied, raising an eyebrow from beneath her large glasses.

"Yes, it's true. I've been watching over social media and the prey are beginning to turn on the preds already."

Bellwether nodded.

"That's good." she said quietly. She stared at the floor.

"I was hoping you could give me a name on whoever was behind the attack. I'd like to get in contact with them and join the group."

The ewe was silent for about thirty seconds.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I figured if I captured Zootopia right away, smaller cities such as Borealis would be a cakewalk. But now that I think about it, sending influencers up there while I was still in power might have been a good investment. I'm glad to see that independent mammals are following in my hoofsteps and continuing my dream."

Inside, Blake was a little upset that Bellwether had nothing to do with this. She had no reason to lie to him, she had nothing to gain from it, considering she was already in prison.

"So, you don't have an idea of who it could be?" Blake asked again, hoping she'd give at least a first

name.

"Nope. You're gonna have to find them yourself." she replied.

Blake sighed and stood up from his chair. He walked over to the door and was about to knock, but he was interrupted by Bellwether.

"Thanks for keeping our movement alive." she said, smiling.

Her smile seemed pretty genuine, it made Blake feel physically sick. He forced a smile and nodded. He knocked on the door twice with his knuckles.

"Alright, we're done talking. Open the door." Blake said.

Just like he asked, the click of the door unlocking could he heard, and the door opened soon after. Both Stanley and the panther walked in together. Bellwether held out her arms to allow the panther to cuff them. She was escorted out of the room and down the hall. Stanley gave Blake a stare, but Blake remained silent. Blake stepped out of the room, allowing Stanley to lock it, and the two made their way back to the front entrance.

"So, you get anything?" Stanley asked, hopeful.

Blake slowly shook his head.

"Nope, nothing. Not even a name. She said that Borealis wasn't even in her sights at the time, she was only focused on Zootopia.." Blake replied solemnly. He put his paws into his pockets and stared at the ground. Stanley humphed.

"That's bad." he said quietly.

Blake didn't reply, he was too busy thinking about what Bogo and Maxwell would say, or worse, what Nick and Judy would say. He recalled back to that morning, when Nick was being skeptical about his proposition, and how persistent he was being trying to get Nick on board. What would Nick say when he found out he came back with nothing. He was interrupted by Maxwell calling his name. He came to his senses.

"Blake. We're leaving now." he said, waving him over toward the door.

Blake left Stanley's side to join up with Bogo and Maxwell, who were already outside the door. The three of them walked quietly over to the cruiser and got in. Blake fastened his seat belt while Bogo started the engine. They drove through the gate, the officers standing guard waved as the vehicle passed. Once they arrived back on the main road, Maxwell broke the silence.

"So, what went down in there?" he asked.

Blake shook his head, and took a breath in.

"So, long story short, I didn't get anything. She did say that she was going to spread outward once she captured Zootopia, but she never actually sent influencers up to Borealis. So that eliminates any links to Bellwether." Blake said.

Maxwell chuckled lightly.

"You say 'captured.' That makes her seem like some kind of war general."

Blake smiled, and raised his arms in defense.

"Hey, that's what she said to me, I'm not trying to glorify her." he said.

"So whoever's been doing this back in Borealis is working independently." Bogo added.

Blake nodded again.

Maxwell sighed.

"Well, let's hope Nick and Judy had better luck with Jay." Maxwell said, staring out the windshield.

Blake didn't reply, he simply clasped his paws together and stared at the floor.

The car was silent for the rest of the ride back into town.

They had arrived back at the train station at quarter to one, meaning they had fifteen minutes to catch a train. They said goodbye to Bogo, who didn't get out of the vehicle. Maxwell and Blake waved as the vehicle disappeared down the street. The two of them entered the station and approached the ticket kiosk. While Maxwell purchased the tickets, Blake had time to look around the station. He saw mammals from all different areas of the globe, all living together in one megacity. The population of Borealis mostly consisted of mammals that were native to the area, an area once known as 'The Boreal Forest.' Maxwell tapped Blake on the shoulder and handed him his ticket.

"The next train to Borealis doesn't leave until two, so we're gonna be home late regardless." he said.

Surprisingly, Blake didn't mind too much. Blake and Maxwell found an empty bench to sit on near their platform. Blake stared at the tile floor.

"You know, you did good today." Maxwell said, making Blake jump.

"Really? But I didn't get any leads. I've contributed nothing." Blake replied.

"You did a hell of a lot more than I did on my first day, that's for sure." Maxwell said, offering a smile.

"I guess." Blake replied quietly, shifting in his seat.

"Remember earlier, don't worry about it. You're doing just fine."

Blake thought for a moment, recalling their earlier conversation. He beamed.

"Thanks, Chief." he replied.

The afternoon sun beat down on the city. Blake removed his windbreaker and folded it across his lap.

"It sure is hot over here." Blake said, wiping his forehead with his arm.

"Yup, that's what Climate Control gets you. If there was no Climate Control, it would probably be just as cold here as it is back home. Zootopia is situated on the side of a mountain, remember?" Maxwell added.

Blake nodded, and Maxwell chuckled lightly.

The hour passed relatively quickly, and the two boarded the train. The train soon departed, and they were on their way home. Blake stared out the window as the train passed through Sahara Square, and eventually Tundratown. He was amazed at how these two wildly different Districts could be right next to each other, even with a massive wall separating the two. The train left city limits, and Blake held on to what little of the city he could see until it finally faded out of view. He made a mental note to return to the city someday when he had some free time. Further down the line, he noticed snowflakes beginning to fall outside the train car, meaning they were closer to home now. Blake looked away from the window. It was a sight he was far too used to, and far too tired of looking at. Maxwell was asleep in the seat next to him. Blake pulled out his phone, but was hesitant to open his social media. He didn't want to risk becoming biased to one side, so instead, he produced a pair of earbuds from the pocket of his windbreaker, and inserted them into his ears. He shuffled his library, and closed his eyes. They were still two hours away from Borealis, and he was starting to feel the effects of waking up at four A.M. The train car faded as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _First chapter of 2018. Would have been uploaded sooner, but the document manager decided to kick the bucket...again. I'll be working on the next chapter for New Kid in the District (a different, unrelated story) next, so if you want to check that out. -Prince_


	6. Chapter 6 - Visiting Hours

Nick and Judy were en route to the hospital where Jay was being kept. The freeway was packed with morning traffic, but they were in no rush, they had plenty of time before they were supposed to be there. The majority of the ride there was silent, as both Nick and Judy were deeply concerned about Jay's condition. They were told that he was just fine, but they couldn't help but be a bit worried. Judy stared out the window at the city around her in a weak attempt to take her mind off it, but her conscience got the best of her.

"Do you think he's alright, Nick?" Judy asked quietly, still looking out the window. Nick's ears peaked, however he kept his eyes on the road.

"What was that?" he replied.

"I said, do you think he's alright?" Judy repeated. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Who, Jay? Or Blake? Because if you're talking about Blake, I assure you-" Nick's sentence was swiftly cut off by Judy's response.

"Jay! Y'know, the one in the _hospital?_ I know for absolute _certain_ that Blake is fine."

"Okay, okay, I admit that might have been a dumb statement." Nick pulled the car off the freeway and onto an exit ramp. "Just sit back, we're almost there."

Judy sighed, and returned her gaze to the city outside.

Finding a parking spot was difficult, as it usually is around hospitals, but that was the least of their worries at that particular moment. Nick and Judy walked into the hospital building, and toward the reception desk. They were greeted by a sweet secretary who was happy to guide them to the room where Jay was staying. Jay's room wasn't too far from the entrance, a quick thirty second walk. Upon arriving at the door, Nick and Judy thanked the secretary, and entered the room. Jay was in bed, leaning against the headboard, and staring out the window. Nick and Judy slowly approached the rabbit. Judy noticed a gash on his right cheek that had been stitched closed, and a few small cuts down his right arm. Jay turned suddenly to see the unfamiliar fox and rabbit staring him down. He glanced down at the alarm clock on the nightstand, it read: 10:05 am. Jay cursed under his breath, as he had forgotten about the visit, despite his nurse reminding him multiple times.

"I didn't hear you come in." he said quietly. He began scratching at the cuts on his upper arm. Judy caught him and intervened.

"Don't do that, it could get infected."

Jay noticed what he was doing and stopped. He sighed.

"Oh, I suppose you're right." A silence crept over the room as Jay climbed out of his bed. He wasn't wearing a hospital gown like they had thought. Instead, he wore a pair of dark jeans and a white shirt that looked brand new. "Sorry about that, guys. I really wish I would have remembered your visit. It kinda caught me off guard when someone other than Nurse Belanger walked in" Nick shook his head.

"Don't apologize, Jay, you didn't do anything wrong. My name is Nick, and this is my partner, Judy. We just want you to tell us what went down yesterday, and then follow up with a few questions. That sound alright?" Nick said.

Jay nodded, and fetched a couple of chairs from the closet across the room. Jay hopped onto his bed and sat down facing Nick and Judy.

"You can start whenever you want." Judy added. "Don't feel pressured.

"Okay... I decided that I'd take Brett to visit the Peace Tower, as a gift from me. As someone who's never been in there, as expected, he was pretty excited about it. So I drove us there and parked a few blocks away. As we got out of the car, I thought I saw someone watching us. I tried to get a better look, saw nothing, and decided it was my mind playing tricks on me. As we walked thought the little garden before the entrance, Brett turned to me and thanked me for taking him. He turned away from me and we continued walking. I asked him if he was scared of heights, as a joke...that's when it happened. Before I asked the question, I heard a small popping sound, similar to bubble wrap. Brett stopped walking. I turned to face him, and told him I was joking, but I'm pretty sure you can guess what was going on at that point. He stared at the wall over my shoulder, and I asked him if he was alright. Then, out of the blue, he charged at me, snarling. I dove out of the way and he ran into the wall head first, which gave me time to call for help. Once I pulled the phone away from my head, he had already gotten up from the concrete and was charging at me once again. He slashed me across the face, and I was knocked to the ground. I fought back as best I could until authorities arrive. If the cops hadn't shown up, the press story might've been a bit more grim." Jay sighed.

Both Nick's and Judy's ears were both raised. Judy's eyes were wide, and her mouth was open in silent shock. Nick nodded as Jay finished his recount.

"Okay. Thanks for sharing, it helps more than you think." Nick said, reaching into his pocket.

"Oh, it's no problem, really, I'm glad to help." Jay replied. Nick had produced a small notebook and a pen.

"Well, that's good, because I'm gonna ask a few questions"

"That's fine." Jay said.

"Okay, so, after the fact, I assume you know the mammal who you thought was just a figment of your imagination, was actually the one who attacked Brett, right?" Nick asked. Jay nodded.

"I was kinda mad at myself for not trying to get a better look." Jay added. Nick frowned.

"So you didn't get a look at their face, or any other features?" Nick asked, looking up from his notebook.

"Afraid not, sorry."

"That's okay, we're still not done. So, could you describe the way Brett went savage in a little bit more detail? I'm asking because you said he just stared off over your shoulder. When I went savage, Judy described a completely different reaction." Nick asked. He looked back down at his notebook, prepared to write out Jay's response.

"Oh? Alright. As soon as I noticed that Brett had stopped walking beside me, I turned around to see him staring over my shoulder, this we know. I slowly approached him, and asked if he was alright. The expression on his face was that of either sadness, or terror, I couldn't pinpoint it. I asked again, then that's when the snarling and growling began. His expression now was most certainly anger. He was never like this around me before, so you could say I was a bit startled. I began backing away, but he walked toward me just as fast-" Nick's eyes widened, and he cut Jay off mid-sentence.

"Walking? As in, bi-pedal?" Jay cleared his throat.

"Yeah, I was getting to that..." Jay replied, annoyed.

"Sorry, continue."

"As I was saying, He was walking toward me as I backed away. I felt myself hit the wall, and that's when he charged. I think I'll spare you the part where he mauls me this time."

"Okay, okay... So the state he was in was different than the one we've seen before, must be because it's not the same serum." Nick said, scribbling down the last few words into his notebook.

"There's more than one serum?" Jay added, looking into Nick's eyes.

"Yeah. There's the original serum, the one seen used in Zootopia, and the one used here, dubbed 'Serum 741021.'" Nick said.

"Oh, okay, just wanted to know." Jay replied.

"Moving on, we don't know too much about Brett other than his name, age, and species. You mind filling in a few blanks for us? Just tell us about him."

"Okay. Brett and I have been friends for about seven years. We met when I was in seventh grade, he was still in fifth at that point. He was always a very timid kid, who was nice to just about everyone. You had to try real hard to get on his bad side. He's a smart guy, too, he skipped eighth grade and went straight to high school. He had a real knack for science, chemistry in particular. Right now, for his organic chemistry class, he goes over to the college to work on his project with students there. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but since he's my boyfriend, he told me that he gets to work with those Night Howler plants, but that's all he told me." Jay said. At the mention of the Night Howlers, Nick's eyes lit up.

"Are you sure that's all he told you?" Nick said suddenly. Jay jumped back a bit in his seat. Jay stared at the floor, deep in thought. Nick watched. "Anything, anything at all?" Nick asked again. Jay sighed.

"I'm not sure if this is completely accurate, but I'm pretty sure he did mention the name of his partner to me once." Jay said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Nick. He and Judy locked eyes, and she offered him a comforting smile.

"What would it be?" Nick asked, leaning closer. Jay leaned back reflexively.

"I think his name was Ryder, or something that sounds similar." Jay stated. Nick blew out a breath, and quickly scribbled the name 'Ryder' on his notebook in large letters. "Quick question, how long will it be until Brett comes back around, gotta be honest, I'm worried sick."

Judy rushed over to Jay's side and placed a paw on his shoulder. Jay sighed.

"We were given word that an antidote is already in the works. They said it would take a couple weeks to complete the first batch of the prototype, as it is only in the early stages of research." Judy said.

"Once Brett is cured, you can come to him for confirmation, I'll make sure he knows." Jay said. Nick glanced at the clock, it was nearing noon. A nurse walked into the room, surprised to see Jay out of bed. She approached Judy.

"How long has he been out of bed?" she asked, motioning towards Jay.

"He's been out of bed for pretty much the entire visit." Judy replied. The nurse nodded. She turned her gaze to address Jay

"Alright, since you're up and about now, I suppose you're ready to be discharged." she stated. Jay got up out of his chair and walked up to the nurse.

"How's Brett? Is he okay?" Jay asked, a sort of panic hinted in his voice.

"I assure you, Mr. Arlington, that he's fine. We had to sedate him as he was becoming hostile towards the handlers. A cure is being worked on this very second by top scientists in the Borealis area." she said. She left the room, presumably to fetch the paperwork, leaving Jay alone with Nick and Judy once again.

"Before you go, I have one more small thing to ask you." Nick said. Jay looked up and into Nick's eyes.

"Yeah?" Jay replied.

"Did Brett ever tell you the name of the college he was working at?" Nick asked, lifting his pen. Jay thought for a moment.

"He mentioned Fanshawe to me a couple times." Jay replied, sitting back down. Nick scribbled the word 'Fanshawe' followed by a question mark in large letters into his notebook. Nick smiled.

"That should be all. Thanks for the help, Jay, we appreciate it." Nick said, extending his arm. Jay took Nick's paw and shook it.

"Not a problem. Like I said before, happy to help." he replied. At that moment, the nurse returned carrying a tattered looking blue hoodie, a cut up t-shirt, and blood-stained jeans. Jay cringed at the sight.

"Everything is taken care of, you are free to leave. The stitches need to be removed in a couple weeks, so you will need to return on Tuesday, March twenty-seventh. I trust you want these back?" The nurse handed Jay the pile of clothes, the clothes he wore when he was attacked. Jay winced once he got a better look at the jeans.

"Did I really lose that much blood?" he said quietly. He shook the thought off, and grabbed the hoodie. He pulled it over his head.

"Since you're leaving as well, we can walk down to the lobby together." Judy suggested. Nick and Jay didn't have any reason to object, so they obliged, and the three began down the hall toward the elevators. Nick placed his notebook and pen back into one of the many pockets on his trench coat, and Jay clutched his ruined clothes. Nick tapped the 'down' arrow, and the three of them entered the elevator. Faint music could be heard in the elevator car. Jay looked over to Judy, then up to Nick.

"It was nice meeting you two." Jay began. "I had heard about your work down in Zootopia, and I was absolutely amazed at what you two had accomplished in only a couple days. If I had known it was you two coming to see me, I would have been more prepared, but the nurse only told me that there were going to be some mammals coming to ask some questions."

Nick chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't believe it sometimes either. It was nice to meet you too, Jay, I hope we'll get to see you again at some point, maybe with Brett by your side" Nick said, offering a smile. The elevator stopped at the ground floor, and the trio stepped out. The walked a ways down the hall until they reached the lobby. Jay took a seat on a bench.

"You're staying here?" Judy asked, confused. Jay shook his head.

"No. My car is still parked near the Peace Tower...hopefully, and I don't live in the downtown core, and the Peace Tower is also a ways away from the hospital, so I'll just wait for the bus." Jay said. Nick and Judy exchanged looks, and Nick shook his head.

"Nonsense, come with us, we'll give you a ride." he said. Jay's eyes lit up, and he smiled. He shot up from the bench.

"Really?" he asked, practically yelling. A hushing sound could be heard coming from the secretary sitting behind a desk in her office. "Sorry." Jay whispered. Nick, Judy, and Jay walked out into the cold parking lot toward the squad car. Judy opened the door for Jay, who took a seat in the back. Once they were all in the car, Nick started the engine, and they pulled out of the parking space.

The Peace Tower was a fifteen minute drive away from the hospital where Jay was staying. On the way, Nick asked Jay about his relationship with Brett. Jay's face turned a brilliant crimson at the question, and Nick had earned a particularly hard punch in the shoulder from Judy. Regardless, Jay told the story of his first date with the wolf. Brett had set up a picnic lunch up on the cliffs overlooking the city in late summer, before Jay began his first semester of college. He told them how he had fallen asleep clutching Brett's fluffy tail.

"Aww, that's adorable!" Judy said, both paws placed on her cheeks.

"And I'm the bad guy for asking?" Nick added. With that, Judy punched him again, shutting him up. Jay had directed them to where he had parked his car, which was thankfully still there. Nick pulled the car up close enough so Jay didn't have to walk too far. Jay opened the door of the squad car, saying goodbye to both Nick and Judy before closing it. Once Jay had gotten into his car, Nick stepped on the gas pedal, headed back toward the police HQ. He glanced down at the clock on the car's HUD unit, the time was one P.M.

"What're we gonna do for five hours? Maxwell and Blake aren't gonna be back until six." Judy said.

"Don't know." Nick replied, keeping his eyes on the road. Judy remained silent until they reached the police station. Upon entering the conference room they left earlier that morning, Judy spoke up again.

"Why did you ask the name of Brett's partner?" Judy asked, taking a seat in one of the office chairs.

"Well, Jay said that Brett was working with the Night Howler, right? Since Brett's out of commission at the moment, I figured if we could get into contact with him, we could get more info on what he was doing with them." Nick replied, taking a seat adjacent to Judy.

"That makes sense, and I suppose that's why you asked Jay which college he was going to as well." Judy added. Nick nodded.

"Exactly. However, Jay did say that he wasn't completely sure-" Nick began.

"-rendering Jay's response objectively worthless." Judy finished.

"That's right." Nick said. Judy sighed. She looked over to see Nick wearing his signature smirk.

"What're you thinking about?" Judy asked, lifting her head off the table.

"Jay said that Ryder was going to Fanshawe, correct?" Nick asked. Judy nodded. "Well, if he does really go to Fanshawe, then there might be a chance that Blake knows him, and we could get into contact with him through Blake!" Nick exclaimed. Judy had adopted Nick's smirk, and she looked into the foxes eyes.

"Smart fox, didn't even think of it." Judy said. Nick beamed.

"Thank you, Carrots, I try my best. Just one thing now." Nick said. Judy grew confused at Nick's statement.

"What?" she asked. Nick sighed.

"You said it yourself, we have a five hour wait ahead of us." Nick said, leaning down in his seat. Judy thought for a moment.

"How about we grab a bite to eat? I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and I'm starving. How's about we check out the local cuisine scene?" Judy said, getting out of her chair. She stood behind the chair Nick was sitting in. Nick slowly rose out of his seat.

"That's not a bad idea, plus, it rhymed, so bonus points for that." Nick said. Judy giggled.

"I'm a poet, and I didn't even know it!" she replied. Nick was already at the door.

"C'mon, Shakespawe, let's go." he said, motioning toward the hallway. Judy obliged, and the two left the room.

* * *

 _I apologize for the long wait, it's exam season for me, and I need all my free time to gather my notes and study. Finished this chapter because I had a sudden burst of creativity while I was working on one of my review sheets, and of course I couldn't let it go to waste. Enjoy! -Prince_


	7. Chapter 7 - An Outside Source

Nick and Judy had found a nice little diner on the main strip, a mere fifteen minute walk from the HQ. They were seated by a nice hostess, and enjoyed a nice late lunch/early dinner together. By the time they were finished, they noticed that they still had three hours to kill before they were expected back at the HQ. They decided that they would simply head back to the hotel. On the way through the lobby, the two waved at the desk attendant, Marley. Marley gave a cheerful wave in return, and Nick and Judy stepped into the elevator. Upon reaching their room, they rented a movie. As the end credits rolled, Nick wore an unimpressed expression. Judy, however, had a wide grin plastered across her face.

"I don't know why I even suggested that. It was terrible," Nick said. He climbed off his bed and stretched his back. Judy hopped off her bed and turned off the TV.

"Really? I thought it was pretty good," Judy replied, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. The two mammals took turns using the washroom, each changing back into their work uniforms. Once Judy emerged from the washroom, Nick continued to talk about the movie.

"So, after all that complaining, you ended up enjoying it," Nick stated. He glanced over toward Judy, who was busy rearranging her work bag. She looked back up at Nick and smiled.

"Yeah, I enjoyed it. I'm not allowed to change my opinion?" Judy asked. She pulled her bag over her shoulder and started toward the door. Nick raised his paws in a defensive manner.

"No, no, I'm not saying that at all. I only brought it up because you were complaining so much when I put it on," Nick replied, grabbing his overcoat. Judy stopped and turned on her heel. She glared up at Nick, eyebrows raised.

"That's fair to say, but I'm not the one complaining anymore, am I?" Judy returned, turning back towards the door. Nick smiled.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. All I said was that I didn't like it after watching. Let's go. Maxwell should be back at HQ within the hour," Nick replied. The two exited the room, and began their journey back to the station.

Traffic on the expressway was pretty slow. Adding to that, the streets of Downtown Borealis were gridlocked, further slowing down the two mammals' pace. They ended up arriving at the HQ at six-forty-five. Forty-five whole minutes later than they should be. Nick pulled their cruiser into an open space near the building. Both mammals exited the vehicle

"Dammit, I hope Maxwell will go easy on us," Nick said worriedly. Judy, following closely behind, tried her best to comfort the vulpine.

"I doubt he'll do anything too severe. Probably just a warning, to be honest. Also, he's spent most of his day on a train, so I doubt he'll be in the mood for yelling. We'll be fine," She said. The two sprinted up the steps and into the building. They slowed their pace down once they entered, as not to disturb those working in the offices. They walked quietly down the hall toward Maxwell's office, and knocked on the door. No answer. After a few more tries, they went for the conference room. Again, nothing. Nick and Judy each took a seat in an office chair, confused.

"Where is he? He said he'd be here by six," Judy asked aloud.

"I hope nothing happened to him," Nick replied. Judy shifted in her seat.

"I don't think anything happened, Nick. If something serious _did_ happen, there would be something of a small frenzy going on in this building," Judy added, raising an eyebrow. Nick nodded his head, realizing that Judy had a point. Judy pulled her phone out from her pocket. With the Chief gone, she had some unanswered text messages to attend to. Nick shrugged his shoulders and reached for his phone as well.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Maxwell strode through the door almost exactly at seven o'clock. He looked back and forth between Nick and Judy. He cleared his throat.

"How long have you guys been waiting here?" he asked, taking a seat at the end of the table. Judy put her phone away.

"Not too long. We finished out visit at the hospital within an hour. After that we went for lunch, then we went back to the hotel and watched a movie," Judy replied.

"Why are you so late? We thought you'd be here by six?" Nick asked. Maxwell sighed.

"Well, when we got to the train station, the next train to Borealis left an hour after we originally wanted to leave." Maxwell replied. Nick nodded his head. He got up out of his chair and began pacing around the table.

"Alright, I believe that. Where's Blake? What happened in Zootopia? Did Bellwether have anything valuable?" Nick began. Maxwell raised his hooves to stop Nick's rapid-fire questions. He motioned for Nick to sit back down.

"I could see that Blake was tuckered out from the round trip train rides, so I drove him back to his residence. What happened in Zootopia? In all honesty, not too much. Long story short, Bellwether had nothing to do with it this attack. Blake relayed to us that although she hadn't orchestrated it, she was planning attacks in smaller towns. You two are dismissed, I'm going home," Maxwell said, pointing at the two. Nick and Judy exchanged looks.

"Really? That's it?" Judy asked. Maxwell rose from his seat, and grabbed his bag from the foot of the table. He started toward the door. Before exiting, he turned to face Judy.

"Yes. Save the details about Jay for tomorrow. I'm not sure I'll be able to retain anything you tell me at the moment," Maxwell replied. He waved them over toward the door. Nick and Judy gathered their belongings and followed Maxwell out of the building. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

* * *

All he knew was that he got a ride home from Maxwell, the rest was just a blur. Blake was startled awake by the droning ring from his cell phone, which was placed on his computer desk. His eyes began to focus. Blake realized that he had somehow fallen asleep sitting in his computer chair. He got up out of the chair and reflexively put his arms up to the sky. Once he was done stretching, he reached for his phone to answer it. Mostly just to stop the assault on his ears.

"Hello?" Blake said drowsily. He stared out the window of his dorm as he awaited the caller on the other end of the line to reply.

"Blake? It's me, Judy. Come to the HQ ASAP," Judy asked. Blake glanced over at his alarm clock next to his bed. It was eight-thirty A.M. His heart skipped a beat.

"Shit, am I late?" Blake replied, raising his voice a tad higher than he'd wanted. Seconds later, giggling could be heard coming through the speaker.

"No, you're not late. I called you to make sure you _wouldn't_ be late. You need to be here by ten, so you have plenty of time to get dressed, among other things," Judy said. Blake nodded his head slowly, returning his gaze to the parking lot through his window.

"Hey...how'd you get my number?" Blake asked suddenly. The question caught Judy off guard, but she had her answer prepared in less than two seconds

"It's on the sheet your school gave us. It has all your personal info. Included with the phone number is your full name, your-"

"Alright, alright, I believe you. I'll be there before ten, got it? See you then," Blake said, interrupting Judy.

"Okay...see you," Judy replied awkwardly. Blake ended the call, and began pacing around his room, gathering clothes for the day. He entered the washroom, and turned on the shower. As he brushed his teeth, he, with great difficulty, tried to remove yesterday's outfit. After making no progress, he finished brushing, and removed his clothes properly.

One quick shower later, he dried off his fur with a towel and threw on the clothes he had picked out. He stepped out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, glancing at the clock on his microwave. It was exactly nine A.M.

"Crap," Blake whispered. He walked over to his coat-rack and grabbed his windbreaker. He scooped up his phone from his computer desk. Before he put it in his pocket, he noticed that the battery was below ten percent. He cursed to himself again, and placed it in one of the pockets on his windbreaker. He'd be able to charge it in his car on the way to the HQ. He grabbed his wallet and car keys from the kitchen table, and stepped out of the door, locking it on the way out.

Blake unlocked his car and stepped inside. He shoved the keys into ignition. As soon as the engine turned over, he reached into his pocket and plugged his phone into the cord protruding from the centre console. He shifted his car into gear and backed out of his parking space. He drove around the winding roads on campus to reach the main street. Traffic on the freeway was relatively light for rush hour. Blake glanced up at the sky. There was not a cloud to be seen, and the sun was beating down brightly on the City of Borealis.

It was nearing the end of March, which meant the snow would be melting soon. This thought brought joy to Blake. His family, especially his mother, thought it was ironic that an arctic fox would hate snow. He didn't care what they thought, since they still loved him to pieces regardless of his opinion on snow and winter as a whole.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the HQ. After finding a spot to park his car, he hurried over to the HQ building. While he was crossing the street, he checked to see how much his phone had charged during the journey.

"Twenty-five percent," Blake muttered. "I can survive until lunch on that." He walked up the concrete steps and through the door. The receptionist at the front desk gave him a friendly wave, which he returned. The mammals of the BMP were beginning to notice his presence. He began walking down the hall to the conference room, only to be greeted by Judy, who was standing outside the door.

"Good. You're here. Come in, we have some things to talk about," Judy said. Judy disappeared into the room, leaving Blake alone in the hallway. Not missing a beat, He quickly followed suit. Inside, Nick and Maxwell greeted Blake. He took a seat in an empty chair next to Nick, placing his belongings on the table. Judy sat in a chair across from Nick and Blake. Maxwell took his seat next to Judy, Odd, considering he usually sat at the end of the table. Judy cleared her throat.

"Okay. So, Blake, Maxwell told us the short version of you two's Zootopia visit," she began.

"What'd he tell you?" Blake replied. He glanced over to Maxwell, who simply nodded.

"He said that you said Bellwether didn't do it, but had plans to. Is that right?" Judy asked. Blake thought back to his short interview with the ewe. He remembered the important bits, which surprisingly wasn't much. What Judy had said to him had pretty much summed up his entire conversation.

"That's about it," Blake said quietly, nodding his head. Judy murmured something that Blake couldn't quite hear, and looked up toward Nick. Apparently, Nick had heard what the doe had said, and reached into his overcoat, which was draped over the back of his chair. He produced a small notebook, and laid it out on the table. He flipped to one of the pages. Out of the blue, Blake remembered that Nick and Judy had visited the victim of the attack at the hospital the day before. "How'd your hospital visit go?" he asked, perhaps a little bit too eagerly.

"We were just about to bring that up," Judy said. "Nick, start us off, if you will?" The fox picked up the notebook from the table.

"Yesterday, we visited the victim of the Peace Tower attack, a Jay Arlington, age nineteen. We asked him to describe the attack and the events leading up to it from his perspective, which he did in great detail. Following his description, I asked him a few follow up questions. In his description, he said that he saw a figure watching them, but he dismissed as a figment of his imagination. Unfortunately, he didn't get a good enough look at the mammal to give a description," Nick began. Both Nick and Maxwell were listening to Nick closely. In just the first five minutes of his recount, they had realized that Nick and Judy had been far more successful than he and Blake.

"Next, I asked him how his companion, Brett Marshal, acted before he went full savage. Jay said that Brett remained bi-pedal, a different reaction from what we've seen before. Finally, I asked Jay to fill in some blanks about Brett, since we still didn't know much about him at the time. Jay said that he was very intelligent, and that he had been working on a project with students at Fanshawe for one of his classes. Now, I'm not sure how accurate this is, because Jay wasn't so sure either, but he said that Brett had been working with the actual Night Howler plant. Upon hearing that, I asked him the name of his partner. He gave us the name 'Ryder.' After that, we concluded the interview, and we left the hospital together, as he had been discharged," Nick concluded. His recount of the interview had captivated both Blake and Maxwell alike, and really gave them a good idea of what had happened to Jay before they arrived at the scene.

"Blake, this is where you come into the picture," Judy said. Her voice had snapped Blake out of his train of thought. He returned to focus and shifted in his seat.

"I don't follow," Blake replied.

"Well, Jay was able to give us a name, and he said that he goes to Fanshawe, which is your college," Judy added.

"What do you want me to do with that information?" Blake asked. Judy gave a quiet sigh.

"We want you to try and find out who this 'Ryder' fellow is, if that's even his name. I'll ask you this. Do you know anyone who's name is Ryder, or sounds similar to Ryder, who works in the labs at your college?" Judy said. Blake went deep into thought. For the most part, Blake stayed away from the labs. He had no business over there regardless, and whenever he did cut through there to get to the lecture hall, students working in that hallway would tell him off for trespassing through their abode.

 _Weird lot, them._ Blake thought.

A few minutes passed. Blake recalled every time he walked down that hallway. His eyes lit up.

"I do recognize the name. There's only one Ryder in the labs, Ryder Robichaud. I don't know too much about him, I've interacted with him twice, maybe three times From what I _do_ know, I would describe him as 'pedantic and smug,'" Blake said. Judy smiled.

"Awesome! See if you can get into contact with him, we need to know exactly what it is he and Brett are doing with those Night Howlers," Judy replied. She seemed a bit too excited, and it was making Blake feel a bit uneasy. However, he shook it off.

"That might prove difficult considering we don't talk to each other, and we probably aren't on the best terms," Blake said. Judy scoffed.

"Well you're gonna have to get past that, because this is important,"

"I'm aware. I never said I wasn't gonna do it. Just know that it could take some time," Blake replied. Judy sighed again, and got out of her seat.

"That's fine, but still, you can't take too long. At the moment, this is our only lead," Judy said, raising her voice a little. She crossed her arms. The way Judy was talking to Blake was beginning to irritate him, and Maxwell seemed to have caught on to it. Before a full on shouting match broke out, Maxwell stepped in.

"Excellent. We've definitely made some progress today. It's nearly lunch time, so I suggest we go get something to eat together. Once we finish, Blake, you can go back to campus. Nick, Judy, and I will finish up some things here. Sound good?" Maxwell said. The others all nodded, and Nick and Judy made for the door. On his way out, Blake stopped in front of Maxwell.

"Thanks for bailing me out, I don't know how much longer I could've gone," Blake said, looking up at the moose. Maxwell chuckled.

"Don't mention it, especially to Judy," he replied. The two shared a laugh, and ran to catch up with the others. Maxwell's mention of lunch reminded Nick and Judy about the place they visited yesterday. On the way out the door, Nick suggested that they go there so Blake and Maxwell can try the food. The two agreed, since they didn't have another suggestion in mind. The group began walking southbound down the street, following Nick and Judy's lead

* * *

Hunger sated, Blake parted ways with his co-workers, waving goodbye to them as he crossed the street to his car. Sometime between them leaving the HQ, and them leaving the diner, it had began snowing again. The windows of Blake's car were covered in about a quarter inch of fluffy white snow. He unlocked the vehicle, and opened the rear driver door. He fetched his car brush, which looked quite battered from years of use. Many of the bristles were bent or broken, and the plastic scraper at the base of the handle had been worn down to the point where it was no longer useful. Blake made a mental note to replace it, but he usually forgot by the time he needed to go shopping, and always scolded himself for forgetting when the time came to use it again. He swiftly pushed the sheet of snow off of his windows and mirrors. The snow wasn't packed on too thick, so it would blow off near immediately as soon as the vehicle began moving.

Blake opened the driver door and sat down in the driver's seat. He placed the brush in the rear seat through the space in between the two front seats. He started the car, and began driving back to the college campus. On his way out of the Financial District, he remembered he was short a few things. He continued down the main strip until he came across a familiar corner store, a chain brand named Mac's found only in the northern cities. He pulled the car into an open spot on the street, cut the engine, and got out. Upon opening the door, a familiar electronic beeping could be heard coming from somewhere in the store. Other sounds, including the low humming of the wall refrigerators, and central air fans, combined to create the corner store atmosphere that he had somehow come to enjoy.

Without missing a beat, he began searching for what he needed. He recalled being short on sliced bread, and he had completely run out of bottled water. Cases of water were stacked against the same wall that housed the refrigerators. The bread was located on one of the shelves in the middle of the store. Items in tow, he made his way to the counter near the front of the store.

"Hey, Blake. Didn't expect to see you here," the cashier said. Blake looked over from behind his cases of water to see who the cashier was. Blake was greeted by another arctic fox, who shared the same pair of brilliant blue eyes as him. He recognized the fox across the counter as his friend, Stephen Rennard.

"Hello, Stephen, I momentarily forgot that you work at this branch. How's your week been?" Blake asked. Blake hoisted his items onto the counter to be scanned.

He and Stephen had met in their early years of middle school. They began really clicking with each other during their last two years of high school. With Blake being more extroverted, he often partnered up with Stephen to help him with his oral communication skills and fear of public speaking. By the time the two graduated, Stephen's fears were stamped out, and he had even earned himself the title of valedictorian. Blake and Stephen started their years at Fanshawe together. Blake for forensic sciences and detective work, and Stephen for toxicology.

Stephen scanned Blake's items with ease. "My week? Pretty good. I haven't seen you around the campus lately, where've you been? Also, your total comes to nine-fifteen," Stephen replied. Blake fished his wallet out of one of the pockets on his windbreaker. He handed Stephen a ten dollar bill.

"I've been at the police headquarters for most of the week. Co-op placement, remember?" Blake said. Stephen placed the note into the register and counted out Blake's change. Blake took the coins from Stephen's paw and put them into his wallet.

"Want a bag for the bread?" Stephen asked. Blake shook his head no. "Alright, have a good day." Blake grabbed his items from off the counter and began heading toward the door. He stopped just before the door, as a thought had just occurred to him.

"Hey, Stephen, when does your shift end?" he asked. "Also, could you get the door for me?" he added. Stephen stepped around the counter and strode over to the door.

"I get off at four, why?" Stephen asked. Stephen opened the door for Blake, and Blake walked through.

"I was just wondering if you could come over to my dorm so we could, y'know, have a chat; catch up a bit," Blake replied. Stephen's ears peaked, and his tail swished lazily behind him.

"Absolutely, see you then!" Stephen said. Stephen walked excitedly back to his post behind the counter. Blake trudged back to his car, cautious as not to slip on the ice hidden by the piles of fresh powder on the sidewalks. He placed his cases of water and and loaf of bread in the back seat. He walked around to the front and entered the vehicle. He pulled out of his parking spot and continued down the main strip toward the freeway. Once on the freeway, Blake turned up the radio. The roads weren't too terrible just yet, and the snowplows were already out clearing the lanes. With it being two P.M., the freeway was quite deserted.

Blake pulled into his parking spot and cut the power to the engine. He grabbed his keys from the ignition and his phone from inside the centre console, and placed them inside one of the pockets in his windbreaker. He walked around to the rear of the car and grabbed his items from the back seat. With that, he began the perilous journey back to his dorm block from the parking lot, being careful as not to slip. Other than a few close calls, Blake arrived at the building safely. He was forced to use his hip to hit the handicap button since his paws were full. He walked down the hallway until he reached his room. He placed the cases of water and loaf of bread on the floor a few inches away from the door so he could fetch his keyring from his pocket. Once the door was unlocked and open, he picked up the items again and brought them into the kitchen.

Blake took a seat in his computer chair, and stared at the snow falling just outside his window. Despite his hatred for all things winter related, he found the aspect of falling snow quite relaxing. The sudden tranquillity that falling snowflakes brought him would quickly be dashed when he would have to shovel off the front walkway the next day. No matter how much he hated this dorm block's chore list, shovelling a little bit of snow was always better than mopping the hallways or cleaning the entrance mats.

He turned his head away from the window and reached for his computer's power button. The machine came to life, and the soft hum of the PC's fans filled the room. Blake's monitor was the next thing to power on. He was greeted by his lock screen, which contained a rather nice picture of him staring down into the city from one of the many cliff-sides that surrounded it. The on-screen clock told Blake that it was two-thirty, meaning he had two whole hours to himself before Stephen would be over. Blake decided that he would waste those two hours taking care of his fictional city.

Blake was really fond of simulation games, especially city builders. He had always liked watching something he created flourish and prosper. This most likely stemmed from his mother's enjoyment of gardening. During the summer, she would have her own garden in the backyard, and in the winter, she would spend her free time volunteering at one of the city's many greenhouses.

Unfortunately, more often than not, when Blake played these games he would lose track of time. It had gotten bad enough that one day, back in high school, he missed one of his final exams because he was hellbent on making his railway system as efficient as possible. Luckily for him, he was able to take the exam on the catch-up day. Since then, he would limit himself to less than two hours a week for games. Blake had just finished up a new neighbourhood when a loud rapping came from the door. This snapped Blake out of his trance and he glanced down at the computer's clock.

 _Fuck's sake._ He thought.

He quickly closed his game and went to answer the door. Stephen was standing in the hallway, still wearing his work shirt, and had his backpack hanging from one shoulder. He gave Blake a friendly wave before entering Blake's dorm. Blake closed the door behind Stephen, and returned to his computer chair. Stephen had already taken a chair from he kitchen table and placed it across from Blake.

"You know, you could have changed before coming over," Blake said. Stephen lifted his bag onto his lap and pulled out a very wrinkled t-shirt. Stephen pulled his work shirt off of himself with one swift motion. Right as he was about to pull the t-shirt over his head, he noticed Blake giving him a confused expression. Stephen's ears fell flat and he gave an awkward smile.

"You don't mind, do you?" Stephen asked, staring over Blake's shoulder. Blake rolled his eyes and sighed.

"No, no, don't worry about it," he replied. Blake got up out of his chair and walked over to the kitchen. He ripped through the plastic surrounding one of the cases of water and grabbed two bottles. By the time he had returned, Stephen was done changing his shirt, and he was stuffing his work shirt into his backpack. He handed one of the bottles to Stephen, who accepted it graciously. Blake turned to his computer and opened a new tab in his web browser.

"Thanks for the water, I've been dying for a drink since I left work," Stephen said. Blake was still facing his computer, and was typing into his search engine. "What are you looking up Night Howlers for?" Stephen asked. Stephen was looking at the screen over Blake's shoulder. Blake had typed 'midnicampum holicithias' into the search engine. A few seconds passed before he answered.

"Research," he said. "Stephen, you spend a lot of time in the labs, right?" Blake asked. Blake opened his water bottle and took a sip. Stephen nodded his head.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Stephen replied. Blake turned his chair away from his computer to face Stephen.

"Do you know a mammal named Ryder Robichaud?" Blake asked. Stephen's eyes narrowed as he went deep into thought. His eyes returned to their normal state as an answer came to him.

"Yes. He's the one with a lab all to himself," Stephen replied.

"By any chance, would you know if Ryder is working with the midnicampum holicithias plant?"

"Yeah...that's probably why he has a lab to himself. In order to even handle the plant, you need a license. Only him and two other mammals on the whole campus have a license, and one of them is his professor. I don't know who the other one is," Stephen said. It was fine that Stephen didn't know the third license holder. Blake already knew it was Brett Marshal.

"Do you know how I could get into contact with him?" Blake asked. Stephen began thinking again. Since he was taking longer than last time, Blake turned back to his computer and began reading the page for the Night Howlers. The majority of the page was super scientific drivel that Stephen would probably be able to explain. From what Blake could make out, however, wasn't useful for his investigation.

"Hey! I think I overheard Ryder saying that he was having a party this Friday for the whole Science Wing at his townhouse. You could accompany me, and you can bug him as much as you want," Stephen replied cheerfully. Blake's ears peaked. He quickly turned back to Stephen with a huge grin on his face.

"Really? That makes it so much easier. Thanks a bunch, Stephen," Blake yelled. Stephen blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't mention it. I was actually gonna ask you to come myself, but it seems you've beat me to the punch," Stephen replied. Blake closed his browser and opened a folder on his desktop titled 'shows.'

"Wanna watch something until you have to leave?" Blake asked. Stephen stared into Blake's eyes and nodded. Blake allowed Stephen to choose what the two would watch for the rest of the evening. Blake was known around this dorm block as 'The Fanshawe Pirate.' He earned this nickname during his first year when older students found out he had nearly twenty-four terabytes worth of pirated TV shows and movies on two twelve terabyte mass storage devices.

The two spent the next four hours watching TV until nine o'clock, which was when Stephen had to leave. Blake waved goodbye to the vulpine, closing the door behind him as he began walking down the hall. As he had had a long day, Blake retired to bed. Once everything was taken care of, and he was all cozy beneath his covers, he began thinking about Friday.

 _It's Wednesday today, so I have two days to prepare for my confrontation with Ryder. I don't even know what species he is, so I'll most likely have to ask around until someone can point me to him. Still, once I get him alone, what do I ask him? I can't just accuse him of harming someone, I have to get a confession out of him, I need a reason to detain him._ He thought.

Blake sighed. He rolled over to face the wall. It would be a long forty-eight hours.

* * *

 _Longest chapter for this story so far. Maybe I had a bit too much fun writing it. If you could spare the time, please give me some criticism on my work, as I am trying my best to improve. Thanks for reading! -Prince_


	8. Chapter 8 - Into the Fray

Blake woke up early the next morning, having barely slept. He rolled out of bed, still tired, and made his way over to the washroom to start his day. He had spent most of his Thursday trying to come up with clever ways to confront the elusive Ryder Robichaud. In the morning, he sat in his computer chair staring out the window with a music playlist blaring through his speaker system. Normally, he'd expect even a few complaints, but since there was always some jackass blasting music, he figured it was his turn to be that jackass. In addition, it helped him concentrate on his thoughts.

When lunchtime rolled around, Blake left his dorm and made his way over to the cafeteria. He didn't usually eat there, but he knew that he always saw the science majors sitting at two tables in the middle of the room. As he entered, he saw them all sitting there, as expected. He walked up and tapped one of them on the shoulder. The buck turned around and looked down at Blake with narrow eyes.

"What do you want, fox," the buck said. Blake already hated talking to the science majors, but the way the buck put emphasis on the word 'fox' just made him angrier. Blake rolled his eyes.

"Hi, yes, I'm looking for one of your kind, the one named Ryder. I'd like to talk with him," Blake replied. The buck scoffed. He turned his gaze back to his friends at the table, who all began chuckling. Blake stared at the other with deep resentment.

Blake and the science majors hadn't always had bad blood. When Blake was in his first year, he mostly kept to himself. Not because of shyness, he just had a whole bunch of work to attend to at all times, what with being a law major. Before the huge end-of-year party that Fanshawe students always had, he had decided not to go in favour of studying for his final.

He had been minding his own business in the library when he was interrupted, quite rudely at that. Blake felt his earbuds being ripped out of his ears. He looked over his laptop screen to see who was there. It was a second year student, a buck who Blake knew only as 'Dez', inviting students to the party

"Hello, can you hear me? Okay. Huge party this weekend. Be there," Dez said, handing Blake a slip of paper. Blake looked it over, and politely handed it back to Dez.

"I'm not interested, thank you," Blake replied. Blake was about to return to work, when his earbuds were pulled out of his paw. The earbuds didn't disconnect from the laptop, and when they were viciously yanked away from him, the computer was sent flying onto the floor, along with all of his notes. Blake watched as the screen shattered.

"How could you not want to go, dude? Literally everyone goes to this thing," Dez argued. At this point, with the added stress of finals, a broken laptop was the straw that broke the metaphorical camel's back.

Blake swiped an invitation from Dez's hoof, and pointed at the date.

"See this? My exam is the day right after. I don't have the time to party. Also-" Blake picked up his now broken computer and presented the shattered screen to Dez. "-this is gonna have to be repaired. And you know who's paying for it? You." Blake closed the lid of the computer and began picking up the papers strewn across the floor. As he was trying to order them, he could hear snickering coming from above. When Blake stood up, he saw that two more of what he could only assume are Dez's friends had showed up. Blake furrowed his brows. "What's so funny?" he asked. Dez had stopped snickering, however his two friends continued.

"You're absolutely insane if you think I'm paying repair costs for that," Dez replied, pointing at the laptop under Blake's arm. "Besides, it's your fault it's broken," He added, shrugging his shoulders. Blake shook his head.

"How?" Blake yelled.

"Shouldn't have been so close to the edge of the table," Dez replied. Blake began walking closer to where Dez was standing, but stopped. To a mammal Dez's size, Blake was no threat. There was nothing he could to do him physically.

"You pulled it off using force!" Blake yelled. Dez's cronies guffawed behind him, while Dez simply continued smiling. Blake's voice was loud enough that it caused everyone in the library to turn and look over at the scene unfolding in the middle of the space.

"You might want to simmer down, bud, you're gonna make everyone think you're a school shooter." Dez stated. Blake was confused at first, but as he looked down at himself, it dawned on him. He had woken up early that morning, in order to secure himself a good spot in the library, so his face couldn't be looking too friendly. In addition to the bags under his eyes, he was wearing a sweater, gifted to him by a distant relative, that was two sizes too big for him. He accepted that he certainly looked the part.

"Fine. I don't have time for any of this. I still expect repair costs at my dorm by Friday. If I don't see it, CampSec's getting involved," Blake said, before storming off. The sounds of hearty laughs behind him only made him walk faster.

Lucky for Blake, all his work was saved to his Drive, so he was able to continue his work on his desktop. As the week ended, the money he expected didn't arrive. Staying true to his word, he informed Campus Security of the issue, and they were able to get Dez to cough up the repair cost. The two never spoke again, until this point.

Now two years older, and two years more mature, Blake knew how to deal with folks like Dez.

"Ryder isn't here. He's busy at work in his lab. Don't even try to talk to him, he won't let anyone in, not even us. Come to think of it, he hasn't been talking to us, either," Dez said. Blake nodded, a smirk forming on his face.

"Not talking to you either, huh? Good, the longer he stays away from you, the better off he'll be," Blake replied. A few of the mammals around the table stifled a chuckle. The buck quickly got out of his chair. He towered over Blake and stared down at him threateningly. Blake's smirk did not waver.

"You trying to start something, fox?" Dez muttered through a clenched jaw.

"No, I wanted you to answer my question. You also gave me the chance to insult you, so I did that as well," Blake replied. Dez lurched forward and attempted to grab Blake, but was stopped when the moose sitting next to him quickly stood up and held him back.

"Calm down, Desirée, he's not worth it," the moose said. Dez reluctantly sat back down, but didn't take his eyes off of Blake. Blake was internally amused upon finding out that Dez's full name was a girl's name

"Why do you even want to talk to him?" Dez asked. Blake stared Dez in the eye and smiled.

"Well, _Desirée_ , that, I cannot tell you. I'll be off now, thanks for cooperating," Blake replied. He made sure to put emphasis on Dez's name, just to get a reaction out of him. As he turned to walk away, he heard Dez growl at him. Hearing Dez growl the way he did effectively improved Blake's mood for the rest of the day.

The rest of Blake's day was spent in similar fashion as the morning. At around four P.M, there was a knock at the door of Blake's dorm. He got out of his chair to see who it was. He instantly recognized her as the raccoon who had transferred to Fanshawe only a few weeks ago. Her expression told him that she was a bit peeved.

"Could you _please_ turn down your music?" she yelled. Blake kept the same blank expression.

"You must be the newbie. Welcome to Fanshawe, where the music is always playing. In addition, I'm not even the one who usually does this. I'm doing this to clear my mind," Blake replied. The raccoon rolled her eyes behind her thick rimmed glasses.

"Campus Security will be hearing about this," she said, striding off toward the exit. Blake peeked his head out into the hallway.

"They won't do anything, I promise you. Loud music is the least of their worries," Blake called. He closed the door and stood in front of it for a few moments, in case she came back to continue arguing. Next, instead of returning to his chair, he headed into the kitchen. In the corner of one of his cabinets, was a bottle of wine that his mother had gotten him for Christmas. Blake wasn't a big drinker, but he was feeling in the mood. He opened the bottle and filled his glass up a third of the way. It probably would have tasted better if it was chilled, but he didn't feel like waiting for the fridge to do it's job.

Blake took sips from his glass infrequently throughout the evening. By the time nine P.M rolled around, Blake was ready to call it a day. Having achieved nothing, he decided he would simply have to stick to his original plan of going to the party with Stephen.

* * *

Blake awoke with a start. There was a rapid knocking at his door. As soon as the knocking stopped, he grabbed his phone off his nightstand. To his surprise, the battery was dead. He quickly reached for his cord and plugged the device in. The evening outside had mysteriously turned to daylight. He checked the alarm clock next to his bed; it was ten after three. Confused as ever, Blake crossed the room to the door and opened it. He was greeted by a pair of brilliant blue eyes, and fur as white as the snow falling outside. This confused Blake even more.

"Stephen? What are you doing here?" Blake asked, scratching at his neck. Stephen tilted his head to one side, raising an eyebrow.

"What, I'm not allowed to visit my best friend?" Stephen returned. Blake ushered Stephen inside and closed the door behind him. Stephen fetched a chair from the kitchen table and sat across from Blake's desk.

"You are, but doesn't the party start a bit later? Why're you here so early is what I was asking," Blake said. Blake disappeared into the washroom so he could brush his teeth. When he emerged, he saw Stephen rummaging through his closet. It was Blake's turn to raise an eyebrow, and he slowly shuffled back into the washroom. He emerged again, this time, to approach Stephen.

"And what might you be doing?" Blake asked. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. Stephen exited the closet, holding two of Blake's shirts, and looking back and forth between the two.

"After a bit of deliberation, I've determined that these are your two nicest shirts. Now I want you to pick one so that I can build you an outfit around them," Stephen replied. Blake compared the two shirts. In reality, he couldn't care less about his outfit, but he decided that he would humour the idea.

"You know, Stephen, I'm not quite sure. How about you pick the one you think will go best with my eyes," Blake said. In response, Stephen's eyes lit up.

"Blake, I promise you will look the best you ever have once I'm done with you," Stephen stated triumphantly. Stephen's tone caused Blake to crack a smile.

"Good. I'd better be blown away by the result. You have until I get out of the shower. Once you hear the water stop running, I'll unlock the door and you can hand me the clothes, okay?" Blake asked. With a nod, Stephen got back to work searching through Blake's clothes. Blake started the shower and hopped in.

Blake quickly soaped himself down under the warm water. Once he was done, he reached for his towel that was placed on the vanity counter. He began drying himself off, and not twenty seconds later, there was a knock on the door, followed by a beyond happy sounding Stephen calling his name.

"Blake! These will absolutely bring out your eyes!" he said happily. Blake wrapped his towel around his waist and opened the door just a sliver. Stephen handed him a small stack that contained his outfit. Each article of clothing was nicely folded. Blake closed the door and placed the stack on the vanity counter. Aside from the boxer shorts, each article seemed to match.

The first thing he grabbed was a pair of black jeans. After slipping into them, he found them to be a tighter fit than he was used to. Stephen must have found the pair of skinny jeans his grandmother had gotten him for his birthday last year. She didn't know that he liked looser fitting clothes, so when he received them, he placed them at the bottom of his drawer not wanting to get rid of them. The next piece was a simple white v-neck shirt. He noticed that it was the one he hadn't worn yet, as it hadn't been stretched by the campus washing machines. The final piece was a black flannel shirt. This piece confused Blake the most, as he didn't remember owning any flannel whatsoever. Regardless, he put it on on top of the shirt. He left it unbuttoned and turned to look at himself in the mirror.

"Hurry up, I wanna see!" exclaimed Stephen from beyond the door. After a few more seconds, Blake opened the door, allowing Stephen to see. Stephen walked up to Blake and looked him over up and down. Blake gasped lightly as Stephen rolled up both the sleeves of the flannel up over his elbows. After a few more sweeps, Stephen finally stepped back to admire his creation.

"Stunning. Absolutely stunning. I made sure to use dark clothes to make your eyes pop. Now enough about me, what do you think?" Stephen asked. Recalling his reflection in the mirror, what Stephen had said was true. His eyes really did seem more prominent now. Blake smirked.

"You know what, Stephen? I agree, it does look stunning. Also, where did this flannel shirt come from?" Blake asked. Stephen shifted a bit; his tail began swishing lazily from side to side.

"I found it in a box all the way at the back of the closet." Stephen stated. Blake leaned against the door frame.

"Alright, now where did it really come from?" Blake asked. Stephen groaned. He took a step closer to Blake.

"Truth is, I had your outfit planned out before I got here. I knew about those pants because you told me about them, and I was certain that you had a lot of white shirts. The flannel is mine, but since you like it so much, you can keep it," Spencer explained. Blake nodded.

"Really? Thanks, dude," Blake said. Stephen chuckled quietly.

"Naturally. Now, I'm gonna use your shower, I'll change into my clothes, and by the time I'm finished, it'll be time to leave," Stephen said, walking around Blake and entering the washroom. Blake glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was now four-thirty.

"It's gonna take you an hour and a half to get ready?" Blake shouted at the door. The sound of the shower starting up again drowned out most of Stephen's response, but what he could make out went along the lines of ' _You shut your mouth, you took long enough as well.'_

While Stephen was busy in the washroom, Blake decided that he would notify Maxwell of his actions, just in case things were to go south. He walked across the room and swiped his phone from the nightstand. The battery had charged a full one hundred percent, and he proceeded to dial the number to the police station. After a few rings, the gruff tone he was used to answered the phone.

"Who is this?" it demanded.

"Maxwell, it's Blake. In about an hour I will be attempting to speak to the one named Ryder. From there, I will question him on what he knows about the Night Howlers, and about what he's been doing with them. I'll be sure to call if things get sketchy," Blake stated. A brief silence passed.

"Excellent. Be sure to take note of everything he says," Maxwell replied.

"I will. See you tomorrow," Blake said before hanging up. He placed the device in the pocket of his pants with difficulty. He attempted to walk back into the kitchen, but stopped in fear of bending the device around his leg. He took the phone out of that pocket and opted for the pocket on his shirt.

Blake caught himself mindlessly staring out into the parking lot again. The snow was falling heavier than before, which was odd considering what time of the month it was. It was unusual for Borealis to be getting this much snowfall so late into the month of March. The sound of the door unlocking snapped Blake out of his daze, and turned his focus to the source of the noise.

Stephen had exited the washroom, wearing what looked like brand new clothes. Light blue jeans, partnered with a white undershirt and red flannel. He wore an expensive looking watch on his left wrist, and a silver chain dangled from his neck.

"Well?" Stephen asked.

"You look great, Stephen. Where'd you get the watch?" Blake asked in return, pointing at Stephen's wrist. Stephen glanced down.

"Oh, this? It's a hand-me-down from my grandfather. Nice, isn't it? He wore it every day until he gave it to me," Stephen said. Blake left his post at the windowsill to get a closer look at Stephen's watch.

"If he wore it every day, it's in pretty good condition," Blake commented. Stephen smiled.

"I know, I want to keep it this way forever." Stephen glanced at the clock on the wall; it was exactly six P.M. "Hey, we should get going, eh?" Stephen asked.

"Yeah," Blake replied. The two grabbed their jackets from off the coat rack and left the dorm, Blake making sure it was locked and that he had the key before he closed it. Blake offered to drive, since he wouldn't be doing any drinking. He had his fix the previous night. Stephen sat in the passenger seat telling Blake where to go.

Ryder lived in townhouse fifteen minutes way from the campus. It was paid for by his parents, who were successful entrepreneurs. After navigating the snow-covered streets in the dimming light, they finally arrived at Ryder's townhouse. When Blake cut the power to the engine, he was able to hear the boom of the bass speakers coming from inside the house. He glanced over to Stephen, who had already gotten out of the vehicle. Blake did so as well, locking it behind him.

"Stephen, is it okay if I ask you a question?" Blake asked. Stephen chuckled.

"You just did," Stephen joked. Before Blake could open his mouth to protest, Stephen continued. "But you can ask another,"

"How did you even get an invitation? The science majors hate us," Blake asked.

"The science majors hate _you._ Also, I did some favours for a few of them," Stephen replied. Blake's eyes narrowed, as he could have sworn he saw Stephen wink at him.

"Hey, wha-" he began. Stephen was no longer by his side. Blake looked ahead to see that he was already up the stairs and standing in front of the door. Blake stopped in the middle of the walkway to get a look at the building.

The house was only two storeys with no basement. Each window had a light shining through it, despite the curtains being drawn. A small but expensive looking pickup truck was parked in the driveway. Blake rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, Blake! Let's go!" Stephen beckoned from the stairs. Blake sighed, and jogged up to meet him. Stephen knocked on the door twice before it was opened by someone he didn't know. They both entered the house, and immediately, Blake was hit by the harsh scent of beer and hard liqueur; drinks he didn't particularly enjoy.

 _Alright. Time to find Ryder._

* * *

 _Apologies for the short chapter, I have no excuses. Enjoy! -Prince_


	9. Chapter 9 - Party Room

Upon stepping into the house, Blake sighed. It was your stereotypical college party, featuring rowdy young adults, a seemingly infinite supply of terrible drinks, and music being blasted at levels that make it impossible to enjoy. Blake stood at the doorway for a few moments, looking over his surroundings. After a short count, there were at least fifty mammals in the one room, making the space incredibly claustrophobic, and for a mammal of Blake's stature, that was saying something.

Blake began his perilous journey of crossing the living room, dodging and weaving through the swishing tails and swaying hips of those taller than him, while also trying not to run into those shorter than him. After taking much more time than he should have, he finally reached the other end of the crowd. The dark cupboards and large centre island told him that he was in the kitchen. The kitchen was a slightly different scene than the living room. The music was quieter, although the bass was still prevalent, and there were far fewer guests. A majority of those in the kitchen were there solely to refill their glass or to get another can of beer from the fridge. From the kitchen, two sliding glass doors led out onto the patio and by extension, the backyard, where more party goers were situated.

Out of the corner of his eye, Blake noticed a figure sitting at the dining room table. It intrigued him, as he was sitting alone in the darkest corner of the room, staring out the window into the backyard. Slowly, Blake approached the table, not wanting to startle whomever was sitting there. As he got closer, the scent of cigarette smoke filled the air. Blake ignored it, and sat down across from the figure.

"You know smoking is bad for you, right?" Blake said. The figure turned its head to reveal itself as a ferret. His dark coloured eyes looked over Blake's bright features; a contrast to the darkness of the space. The ferret turned his attention back to the window and took a drag from his cigarette.

"What's it to you?" the ferret returned. Blake only chuckled and began scratching his neck.

"Sorry, that's just how I introduce myself. Why are you sitting out here all by your lonesome?" Blake asked as he leaned back in his chair. The ferret ashed his cigarette and turned to face Blake again. The ferret sighed.

"I'm the roommate that objected to this party, and with nowhere to go and nothing to do, here I am. Oh, and before I forget, my name is Josh." he responded. For a moment, Blake felt bad. That reason alone played a major part in why he roomed by himself. That, and the ability to do whatever he pleased without fear of judgement.

"Damn, that's heavy. If you don't want to be a part of this, then why are you even down here? Why aren't you in your bedroom? My name's Blake, by the way." Blake stated. Josh took another drag from his smoke, and put the butt in the ashtray. He blew the smoke toward the window, as not to suffocate Blake.

"I was in there when the night began, but I made the mistake of not gathering drinks beforehand and was forced to come out and come down to the kitchen. When I went back up, my room became occupied by some of the attendees, who are most likely doing unspeakable things on, and to my bed," the ferret said solemnly. Blake winced. The mental image was enough for him to not push the matter further.

"Ouch," Blake said sympathetically. The ferret shifted in his seat so he could get a better look at what was going on outside. Blake leaned over to join him. Outside, chunks of ice and snow were flying across the length of the yard. Clearly, a full scale snowball war was taking place. Cheerful shouts could be heard above the music on occasion, and the shouting increased twofold whenever someone got hit in the face.

"What brings you here, as you don't seem like the party type to me," Josh asked out of the blue. Blake glanced over to him, who was still looking out the window. Blake looked back through the window at the scene that was still unfolding outside.

"Well, you'd be right. I came here with a buddy of mine. Do you know Stephen Rennard?"

The ferret put his paws up to his face as he thought.

"Yeah... he goes to all the parties 'round here. Real character, that guy. He the one who invited you?" Josh asked. Blake nodded slowly.

"Yup, that's the one. I've known him for years."

"If you don't like parties, then why'd you come?" Josh asked. Blake sighed quietly and crossed his arms.

"I came because I didn't want to be rude, at least, that's what I told Stephen. The reason I'm here is because I want to talk to Ryder," Blake replied. The ferret's ears peaked, and he turned his head.

"Ryder? What do you want with him?" Josh asked. Blake avoided eye contact with the ferret. Because of the tone of his voice, he wasn't sure if it was a genuine question or if he was asking out of annoyance. Blake proceeded with caution.

"Well, I have a few questions for him, that's all," Blake replied, still avoiding Josh's eyes. The ferret leaned back in his chair and chuckled quietly to himself.

"Don't we all? That guy is a straight up anomaly. He's always locked up in his room, keeping to himself... I barely ever see him out of his room, and when he's not in there, he's on his campus," Josh said. Josh nudged Blake in the ribs and continued to chuckle. Blake chuckled awkwardly along with Josh. The ferret pulled himself together and sat up straight in his chair. "Yeah. If you wanna try and talk to him, his room is the one at the very end of the hall. Just knock on the door and tell him I sent you," Josh added.

"Thanks. You've been the most help to me all week," Blake said. Josh nodded and continued to stare out the window. Blake got out of his chair and returned it to the dining room table. He stepped out of the darkened corner of the room, wincing at the lights above. He stared into the living room, knowing he would have to wade through that again in order to get to the staircase. Blake sighed. Slowly, he eased himself back into the crowd.

This time around, Blake chose to stay close to the walls in order to avoid the thick of the crowd. Once he saw the staircase, he quickly sprinted up it toward the second floor. When he reached the top, he was met with a darkened hallway. With what he could make out, Blake determined there were four doors; two on the left wall, one on the right, and one at the end of the hallway. The light was on in the room at the end. If Josh had been telling the truth, this would be Ryder's room. Blake walked carefully down the length of the hallway until he reached the end. There, he knocked lightly on the door once, then twice. No answer. Blake tried to listen for any movement coming from inside the room, but the loud music from downstairs made this near impossible.

"Ryder? Josh said you'd be in here if I wanted to talk to you." Blake said. Fifteen seconds passed, and a voice, presumably Ryder's, answered from the other side.

"And who is this?" the voice asked. Blake responded swiftly.

"It's Blake. From school,"

"I don't know a 'Blake.' Now leave me alone, I am quite busy,"

For a second, Blake contemplated leaving. But he knew that he hadn't come to this party to enjoy himself, he came for answers. Without thinking, Blake grabbed hold of the door knob and twisted it. The lack of resistance came as a surprise to Blake, as he had expected it to be locked. Blake threw open the door perhaps a bit too hard, and the beaver who was sitting on the old wooden stool had lost its balance and tumbled to the floor.

Blake winced as he watched the beaver slowly pick himself up off the floor. He leaned his desk for support as he scanned over his intruder. The beaver wore circular glasses, and seemed a bit dressed up for working alone in his room. He wore tight jeans and a sweater that was most likely designer. The beaver slowly walked up to Blake, arms crossed.

"May I ask why you did that?" the beaver snapped.

"I already told you I needed to talk to you," Blake returned. His answer seemed only to make the beaver angrier.

"And that warrants breaking down my door?" he yelled. Blake put up a finger.

"It wasn't locked," Blake replied. The beaver threw his arms up in frustration.

"Whatever. You're here now, so I suppose it doesn't matter," he said before returning to his stool. With his back turned, Blake closed the door and quietly locked it. He didn't want anyone to disturb him, nor did he want his interviewee to run from him. Blake took a seat on the bed behind the beaver, while the beaver returned to his work. Blake leaned forward.

"You're Ryder Robichaud, correct?" Blake asked. The beaver said nothing, but nodded. "Good, because there are a few things I need you to tell me," As Blake finished his sentence, Ryder put down his pencil and began typing at the computer that was also set up on the desk.

"I'll tell you what I can," Ryder replied. Blake could only assume he said this because he was trying to keep his project a secret, however Blake already knew what he was working on. Blake sat up straight again.

"So, by now you must've heard about the recent attack at the Peace Tower, yeah?" Blake asked. Ryder still didn't look away from his screen.

"Of course, how could I not? It's all over the news," Ryder replied coolly.

"Yeah, horrible stuff. From what I know, you are acquainted with one of the victims of said attack, correct?" Blake asked. In the blackness of the screen, Blake could see that Ryder was staring at him.

"I was under the impression that the rabbit was the only victim. I have no knowledge of a second," said Ryder. At this point, Blake was unsure if Ryder was purposefully playing stupid, or if he genuinely didn't know how Night Howler attacks worked. Regardless, Blake rolled his eyes.

"You see, when a Night Howler attack takes place, there are usually two victims. The first being the one infected, and anyone after that is a victim of the infected. The name of the infected this time around is Brett Marshall. My question to you is if you know this mammal or not," Blake asked. The mention of the wolf caused Ryder to turn around.

"How do you know his name? The names of the victims haven't been released to the public... Are you a cop?" Ryder's eyes narrowed. While Blake wasn't technically a cop, he was still working for the police department, but if he told Ryder that he risked scaring him off. Blake held his tongue.

"Don't be stupid. I go to the same college as you, and I'm quite good at placing names," Blake lied. "I've been hearing that you and Brett are working with the aforementioned Night Howlers in your private lab. What exactly are you doing in there?" Blake asked. Ryder was obviously becoming nervous. He tried to speak a few times, but stopped.

"I'm not gonna tell you. If I do, you're gonna steal it!" he yelled. Blake furrowed his brows.

"I could care less about what you're doing with them, Ryder. What I do want, however, is for you to tell me how you get the plants themselves," Ryder seemed to calm down a bit, and he regained his composure.

"Well, the plants are delivered to the campus in an unmarked vehicle. My professor is the only one who can handle them outside of the lab. Once they are delivered, then my partner and I are allowed to handle them. The breed we purchase is extra potent, meaning one touch can really mess you up. We have to wear this whole outfit when in the lab," Ryder began. Blake had pulled out his miniature notepad and was scribbling down key details about the process. "As you most likely know, after the Zootopia attacks, a government issued license is now required to even purchase the plants. The most common form of licensing is for agriculture, so farmers can protect their crops. The one we have is one for scientific research; one that is more difficult to obtain," Blake nodded.

"So, what's the difference between these licenses?" Blake asked.

"Well, with the agriculture license, you are only given access to the weakest breed of the plant. With our license, we have access to any breed of the plant we choose," Ryder replied.

"How would one go about getting these licences?"

"Well, for starters, you have to provide a reason for needing one. For farmers it's simple. They need to protect their crops from pests. An agent comes down to your farm, looks over the property, and if he decides that your reason is valid, he'll give one to you then and there. In our case, we needed to tell the government exactly what we were gonna do with the plant. In order to do this effectively, you need to provide them with what is essentially a research paper on what you're doing and how the plant plays a role in it. After that, it's the same as the former. If they think it's valid, they'll give you a license," Ryder concluded.

"Interesting," Blake replied. Ryder glanced at the papers strewn around his keyboard.

"Hey, since you're writing this down, I noticed some of the plants have gone missing over the past few weeks," Ryder said. This statement nearly caused Blake to choke on air.

"What? And you didn't call the police?" Blake yelled. Ryder quickly put a paw over Blake's muzzle.

"Shh! I figured that the only one who could be taking them would be the professor, since the plants are kept in a locked crate that only he and I know the code to. I know he works on our project on occasion," Ryder whispered. Blake calmed down after that.

"Okay. Who's your supplier?" Blake asked. Ryder suddenly got up from his stool and fetched his bag from the foot of the bed. From the bag, he produced a slightly wrinkled piece of paper. A phone number and address was hastily written on it.

"The supplier is Boreal Botany, but I doubt you'll get very far without a license. They're very strict, and without your license code, you'll only get so far as an automated answering machine. And before you ask, you can't have mine," Ryder stated. Blake pocketed the paper.

"Thanks, I don't need it. That about wraps this up, I suppose. Thanks for cooperating," Blake said. Ryder followed Blake to the door. When Blake stopped, they shook paws. Just as Blake put his paw on the door knob, a high pitched voice came from the computer.

"Who was that, Ryder?" it asked. Due to the speaker quality, it was a little garbled, but undoubtedly female. Blake's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, who is that, Ryder?" Blake asked, annoyed. Ryder smiled anxiously as he walked over to the computer. He sighed.

"Hey, Ryah, that would be Blake, someone from school. Blake, this is Ryah, my study buddy," Ryder said.

"Study buddy eh?" Blake walked over to the computer. A little icon in the corner contained an image of a snowshoe hare with a bright orange eyes and a big smile. The name underneath read 'Ryah Dakota.' "How much of that did you hear?" Blake asked.

"I only heard you saying goodbye to Ryder. I had the call muted," Ryah responded. Blake fake chuckled and reached for the mouse. He dragged the cursor over the 'mute mic' button and clicked on it. Still skeptical, Blake kept his voice low.

"Does she know any of what you're doing?" Blake asked. Ryder sat back down on the stool

"No, we don't talk about work. We just talk about current events; stuff like that,"

"Alright, well, I'm off. See you 'round." Blake said. Blake unlocked the door and opened it. Blake heard a 'see ya' come from the room as he closed the door. Blake cheerfully walked down the hallway and down the stairs. At the base, to his surprise, was Stephen, who was standing next to a larger red fox. Both were exchanging looks. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Blake. Havin' fun?" Stephen asked. He was obviously at least buzzed.

"Yeah. Hey, look, I'm going back to the residence, so call if you need a ride," Blake said.

"Don't worry 'bout me, Blake. I'll be good." Stephen replied. Blake nodded.

"Okay. Just wanted to let you know." Stephen nodded, and Blake made for the door. As soon as he was down the steps, the icy wind hit his face. It was so stuffy in that house that Blake had forgotten how cold it really was outside. Blake pressed a button on his remote starter and the car doors unlocked. Blake shoved the keys into the ignition and started down the street as soon as the engine turned over.

 _So now I know where the Night Howlers come from. If I can get into contact with them, I'll be able to find out who they sell to. Once I know who they sell to, we can narrow down our search parameters, and we can finally catch the crook behind these awful attacks._

Blake spent the rest of his ride home thinking about when he would tell Nick, Judy, and Maxwell about his findings. He parked his car in his spot, and sprinted into the residence building. The wind had grown stronger. He unlocked the door to his dorm and quickly stepped inside. He threw his windbreaker on the table and scurried to his computer. As he waited for it to boot up, he pulled the piece of paper with Boreal Botany's info out of his pocket and tacked it to the wall behind his monitor.

The computer had finished powering on, and Blake opened his web browser. He felt as if his findings warranted some celebratory binge watching. His homepage loaded up, and out of instinct, he began scrolling down. In bold black letters, a sentence that would cut his celebration short.

 **Savage Predator Attacks Continue: Three Infected, Twelve Hospitalized; One Critical Condition**

 _In what could be the worst savage predator attack to date, a whopping twelve prey mammals were harmed at an outdoor skating rink this evening. One of the mammals is in critical condition. Borealis authorities were quick to detain the savage mammals, and paramedics assisted the injured. An eyewitness who wishes to remain anonymous gives his take on the subject. 'It's awful. Absolutely awful. If this keeps up, we may have to take action, such as curfew, to keep predators from harming innocent mammals.'_

Blake stopped reading at the mention of curfew. He stared angrily at the sentence and read it back in his head.

"Must be easy to play the victim when your kind is getting attacked, isn't it _flat-tooth!_ " Blake said bitterly. He immediately covered his maw.

 _Did I just say that?_ He asked himself.

He glanced at the tiny clock in the bottom-right corner of his screen. It was nearing midnight.

 _Maybe I'm just tired. Yeah, that's it. I only said that because I'm tired. I don't hate prey mammals. I know I don't._

Blake shut off his monitor and turned off the lights. He didn't even bother to change his clothes, brush his teeth, or even empty his pockets. He decided that the best thing for him in that moment was rest, in order to clear his mind. As he drifted off, he remembered what he was wearing.

 _Sorry, Steph..._ He thought.

* * *

 _I find that I enjoy writing this story the most out of any of my others. -Prince_


	10. Chapter 10 - Justice for Jude

Blake jolted awake when he heard the droning sound of his alarm. He shot off his pillow and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was nine A.M. He narrowed his eyes, confused. His alarm wasn't supposed to be going off today, considering it was Saturday. He remembered that during yesterday's whole party debacle, he had forgotten to turn off the alarm. Blake shrugged his shoulders and reached over to shut it off. He hopped out of bed, knowing there was no chance of him going back to sleep at this point. He drew back the curtains of his room and was promptly showered in sunlight. He sighed, and headed toward the washroom to go through his morning routine once again.

After getting everything ready, Blake stepped into the shower. Overnight, he had been able to sleep on the events of the previous day, most importantly, the info that Ryder was able to provide him. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't expecting Ryder to tell him as much as he did, but he chalked up Ryder's talkativeness to luck. Regardless, the whole bit about Boreal Botany was definitely important and he needed to talk to someone about it. He decided that once he was done, he would give Maxwell a call to pass on the info that Ryder provided him.

Blake exited the washroom freshly showered and went to grab his phone from his nightstand. To his surprise, it wasn't there like it usually was. After a quick search, he found the phone, as well as his keys and wallet in the pocket of his pants from yesterday. He walked over to his computer chair and sat down. As he searched for Maxwell's contact, he turned the chair so that it was facing into the room. He didn't want to tempt himself to turn on his monitor, begin browsing, and find another article bashing predators for something beyond their control.

"Hello?" Maxwell asked as he answered the phone.

"Hey, Chief. I have something about the Night Howlers that I'm pretty sure you're gonna wanna hear," Blake replied.

"Save it for when you get here, because if I want to hear it, Nick and Judy probably want to hear it as well," Maxwell said.

"I'll be there ASAP," Blake replied before hanging up. He shoved the device into his pocket and headed toward the door. He grabbed a random sweater from his coat rack before exiting the room and locking the door behind him. When he stepped outside, he was greeted with medium sized snow drifts covering the walkway leading into the parking lot. Blake sighed. Whoever was supposed to clear the walkway clearly didn't do their job.

After navigating through the maze of snow drifts, Blake reached the parking lot. As he approached his car however, he realized that it was nearly buried by snow drifts as well. Blake was forced to pop open the trunk and grab his trusty car brush. The snow that covered the vehicle was of the light variety, and was easily pushed away, making Blake's job just a bit easier. With the snow finally cleared, Blake was able to get into his car. As soon as he pulled out of his spot, he encountered another problem; the parking lot hadn't been ploughed.

Blake's winter tires were decent, but he's never had to drive through six inches of fresh powder. Blake stepped on the gas pedal, and as expected, the car didn't move. Blake tried again, and the car slowly began moving forward. As the wheels spun, the light powder was easily removed, allowing the wheels to reach the solid surface underneath. This went on for another five minutes until Blake reached the clear street at the end of the lot. Blake sighed in relief as he left the campus.

The freeways were a lot clearer than Blake thought they would be. In the opposing lane, Plough and salt trucks were busy making sure that the pavement was clear of snow and ice. Upon entering the city, the streets were also clear, most likely from the amount of vehicles that use them. Blake pulled his car into what was becoming his usual parking spot and exited the vehicle. Blake walked through the door of the police HQ, the secretary waving at him as he passed. He walked down the familiar hall toward Maxwell's door and knocked on it three times.

"Enter," he said from within.

Blake opened the door to see Maxwell facing his computer. Blake seated himself in the chair across from Maxwell's desk. Maxwell turned to face Blake.

"Good morning, Blake," Maxwell began. Blake nodded once.

"Good morning, Chief," Blake returned. Maxwell leaned back in his chair.

"Before you start telling your story, Hopps and Wilde need to get in here." Maxwell turned back to his computer and reached behind it, revealing a corded phone. He lifted the receiver and hit a few numbers. A few seconds passed. "Can you two come to my office, please?" Maxwell returned the receiver to its cradle and turned back to face Blake. A few more seconds passed, and the familiar faces of the fox and the rabbit entered the office.

"What's going on, Chief?" Nick asked. Maxwell gestured to Blake.

"Apparently, Blake here has something important to tell us," he stated. All three glanced to Blake, who sat unmoved in his chair. After a moment of silence, Blake realized that the silence itself was his cue to begin.

"Oh, right. So yesterday I went to a party with a friend of mine. Normally, I hate parties, but I went because my friend relayed to me that the person hosting it was actually Brett's lab partner. His name is Ryder Robichaud, and long story short, I was able to get him to tell me where he gets his Night Howler plants," Blake explained.

The three became interested in Blake's story as soon as he mentioned the Night Howlers. Maxwell nodded. Nick smiled.

"That's good, Blake," Judy said, also smiling. Blake smiled in return.

"Good work, Blake. Next time, please tell us if you're gonna be doing any detective work without supervision. Only reason I say this is because if things go south, someone needs to be able to help you," Maxwell said. Blake nodded.

"Will do, Chief," Blake replied. Nick placed his paw on Blake's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"I agree, but right now, why not tell us where those plants come from?" Nick asked. Blake got out of his chair and stood in front of the door, where all three could see him.

"They come from what I assume is a botanical garden called Boreal Botany," Blake replied

"So what we could do is, we could go over there, get a list of who buys these plants, and we'll have a sense of direction on who we're looking for, more or less," Judy said. Blake nodded

"Exactly,"

"Did you find out what they were doing with them?" Maxwell asked.

"Ryder was pretty adamant on not telling me, I didn't want to push the matter any further lest he stopped talking. Their professor is in on the whole project so how illegal could it really be?" Blake said.

"That makes sense, I suppose. Anyhow, this botanical garden thing will have to wait until Monday, when a meeting will have been arranged for you three. For now, I need all of you to go to the ice rink where the most recent attack took place. There has been a report of a large crowd forming, and I want to make sure that things don't become hostile," Maxwell said. Nick, Judy, and Blake all started toward the door.

"No problem, Chief," Nick said as he opened the door.

"Good. A few more officers will be headed over shortly after you arrive," Maxwell added. The three walked down the hall and out the door. Once again, Blake was forced to sit in the back of a cruiser, and they were off toward their destination.

The crowd was visible from the moment they turned onto the right street. Nick pulled the cruiser into an open spot on the side of the road, and the three exited the vehicle. The atmosphere around the small crowd was heavy, and conversation between the members was either hushed or non-existent. Nobody had taken notice of the officers until they approached the group. The first one to speak up was Blake.

"Hey, er, what's going on here?" Blake asked, confused. He scanned the group. The group consisted of mainly prey mammals, a majority of them were of the cervidae family.

Many of those in the group ignored him. A few turned their heads to see who was speaking, but returned their focus to the front immediately afterwards. Blake tugged on the hem of a jacket belonging to the buck in front of him. The buck glanced down toward Blake with contempt.

"What," the buck asked bitterly. Blake narrowed his eyes at the buck's disrespectful tone, but pushed forward with his question.

"Wasn't too sure if you heard me all the way up there, but I just asked what's going on here. Care to tell me?" Blake asked, staring back up at the buck. The buck, still holding his contemptuous glare, reluctantly answered Blake's question.

"We're holding a moment of silence for the victims of last night's attack. One minute for each victim. It was pretty rude of you to just wander over here and blurt stuff out, especially taking into consideration one of the victims died in hospital this morning. If you want to participate, that's fine. All you have to do is shut your maw and at least pretend to look like you care," the buck said sternly before returning his gaze to the front of the group.

Blake was hit with feelings of regret almost immediately. Had he known that one of the victims had passed away, he would have been more respectful. Blake blinked once, sighed, and walked away from the group. He walked around the edge of the group in search of Nick and Judy. He found them standing a considerable distance away from the main pack, keeping watch on a few mammals hovering around the outside. He approached them, the things the buck had told him haunting his conscience.

"So, what's the scoop, Snowflake?" Nick asked. Blake sighed again.

"I got one of them to talk to me. He said it was a moment of silence for the victims. Did you know that one of them died this morning? The buck I talked to seemed particularly peeved about me asking about it. I left after he told me to 'at least look like I care.'" Blake replied. Nick winced.

"Ouch. And no, I didn't hear anything about the death. If I had to guess, it must've been the one in critical condition," Nick said.

"I wanna see if I can get more information about this. I'm gonna go ask around a bit. Hopefully I have more luck than Blake did." Judy added before she disappeared into the crowd. Nick and Blake were left alone across the street from the pack.

Blake absentmindedly kicked at the melting snow at the ground. April was just around the corner, meaning that his pearly white fur would soon begin to shed and turn into what he could only describe as 'rock grey.' Meanwhile, Nick was watching over the group, making sure that all was peaceful. A sound coming from his right made Nick's ears peak. He glanced over toward the source of the noise.

"Why don't you just get out of here, this doesn't concern you!" one voice yelled.

"How so? Can I not participate like the rest of you?" yelled another.

Nick tapped Blake on the shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.

"I think something's happening over there. Keep watch while I go find Judy. If things go south, just shout and I'll be over as quick as I can, got it?" Nick said. Blake nodded.

"Got it," Blake replied. Nick jogged across the street and slipped into the crowd out of Blake's view. Blake then turned his head on the two mammals arguing twenty metres from where he was standing. The instigator of the argument seemed to be the larger of the two, a doe holding a sign that read 'Justice for Jude.' The smaller one, a grey wolf, attempted to defuse the situation, however that was proving to be an exercise in futility. The doe continued her onslaught of insults toward the wolf, while the wolf simply held up his paws in a defensive manner.

Blake continued to observe the conflict, wincing as the put downs continued to worsen in intensity. Blake finally drew the line when he watched the doe physically assault the wolf with the sign she was holding. Blake ran across the street toward the wolf and the doe, the doe still beating the wolf with her sign. Blake ran in between them and attempted to separate them.

"Hey, hey! What's going on here?" Blake yelled. Neither of them responded, and the doe continued swinging her sign, this time at Blake. Blake quickly took action as she brought it down toward his head. As soon as the sign made contact with his paws, a quick yank was all it took to swipe it from her hooves. With the doe now disarmed, conversation was now possible.

"Now, I'm gonna ask again. What in the fresh hell is going on here?" Blake demanded. The wolf was the first to speak.

"I was on my way to take part in the moment of silence, when this crazy bitch showed up and started yelling shit at me. Stuff like 'This is a prey-only event,' and 'You preds should all be locked up.' And those are the least hurtful ones," the wolf said.

"You lie! You came here to prey on us at our moment of weakness! Are you aware that someone died last night? You have some nerve showing yourself here," the doe spat back.

"I'm plenty aware. Prey mammals aren't the only victims here, you know," said the wolf.

" Yes they are! Those predators went savage and attacked the prey. For that, they are murderers! They are criminals who deserve live in prison, or better yet, a death sentence!" the doe yelled.

"You do realize that the predators who attacked were _drugged_ , right? The same thing happened back in Zootopia."

"I don't care! Preds like you deserve to be locked up,"

"Hey, shut your mouth, fuckin' flat-tooth!" the wolf yelled.

"Enough!" Blake yelled, interrupting the two. "I am sick of all the fighting this is causing. I say you two apologize for the misery you've caused, and then you two can fuck off back to your homes and allow those who are actually participating in this moment of silence to do their thing," Blake said. This only served to make the doe even more angry.

"Oh, of course you side with the savage," the doe shouted. Blake rolled his eyes.

"Who are you calling savage? And I'm not on anyone's 'side.' I told you both to leave the area," Blake replied. The doe furrowed her brows.

"And who gives you the power to tell me that?"

"That would be us," a voice said from behind the three. Nick, along with Judy, approached them and stopped next to Blake. "If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to us. If the both of you don't leave the premises now, we'll have to escort you off," Judy said. The wolf nodded and took his leave. The doe scoffed at Blake and headed in the opposite direction.

"I sure am glad that didn't get physical, otherwise I would have had to detain her," Nick said. Blake shifted awkwardly in his spot.

"Well, actually, it did get physical. The only reason I intervened was because the doe was hitting the wolf with a sign," Blake said, pointing at the now discarded sign on the sidewalk. Judy walked over to the sign and flipped it over to read what it said. She nodded.

"Yeah. This whole get-together is a sort of vigil for those who were injured. Jude here succumbed to his injuries this morning. They're planning to have a memorial in his name here later today, and I suppose that doe was here early," Judy said. As Judy finished, another patrol vehicle rolled up and two officers exited.

"Maxwell sent us to take over," one of them said.

"Thanks. We were able to defuse one incident already, so keep watch for any others," Nick replied. Both officers nodded.

"Will do." Blake, Nick, and Judy returned to their vehicle and got in. They pulled away from the curb and were on their way back to the station. As Nick navigated the streets of Borealis' Financial District, Blake stared out the window.

"Is there anything else we needed to do today?" Blake asked, still staring out the window.

"Well, _we_ have a bunch of stuff to do at the HQ, you could probably just go back to your campus," Nick replied. Blake nodded as he stared at the passing structures.

Blake got out of the cruiser and waved goodbye to Nick and Judy, who entered the HQ through the side entrance. Blake exited the parking lot and headed toward his car, which was parked on the street. He fished his keys from his pockets and unlocked it as he approached it. He got into the driver's seat and started the car. He pulled away from the curb and started toward the campus.

He parked his car in his usual spot and got out, locking the doors behind him. The weather had made a turn for the better, as the sun had come out, and the snow that fell the night before was already melting. His dorm was exactly as he left it that morning. He placed his jacket on the rack on the wall, and he placed the items from his pocket on the kitchen table. He glanced over at his computer, wanting to check the news. He knew he wasn't supposed to, to keep himself neutral on current events, but he really wanted to find out more about the death of this buck.

He hopped into his computer chair and hit the PC's power button. A few seconds passed before his lock screen appeared, and he quickly typed in his password. His desktop appeared instantly, and he moved the mouse cursor over the internet browser icon. His homepage put forth a plethora of different headlines from varying news outlets. Most of them, as he expected, were pretty mundane, but the ones at the top of the page piqued his interest. One read ' _Victim of First Death Caused by Savage Predator Attack Identified._ ' Blake clicked the link.

 _In wake of the terrible attacks at a Borealis skating rink last night, one of the victims of said attack has passed away in hospital early this morning due to injuries. The buck's name, Jude MacArthur. He was a Borealis native, and enjoyed figure skating in his free time. The savage predator that put him in hospital, Jakob Ceravollo, is currently being held at the same hospital, and is still in his savage state. As of right now, nobody knows what is causing these mammals to go savage._

The last sentence in the article caught Blake off guard.

"Why would they say that? Why wouldn't they mention the fact that Night Howlers are being used again? An antidote is in development at this very moment, for fucks sake," Blake said aloud

Blake returned to his homepage and clicked on the second headline, ' _Borealis Mayor Speaks about Savage Predator Attacks._ '

 _In a private interview with Borealis Mayor, Alistair Macbeth, he opens up about the recent attacks happening in the city. Our interviewer asked him a series of questions, to which he answered. The first question: Did you ever think that something of this severity would ever happen in your city? His response: 'No, of course not. Not in a million years. The second question: What precautions are you going to take to eliminate these attacks, or at least lessen the severity? His response: 'At the moment, our police force is doing a remarkable job. However, if these attacks persist, we may have to take action in the form of increased police patrol and martial law for predators._

Blake stopped reading, mouth agape with silent shock.

"Martial law? For predators only. Is that the best you have? It's easy to say stuff like that when you're sitting in your ivory tower, protected by these massive guards. It especially doesn't help that you're a moose, a _prey_ mammal, who doesn't even have to abide by the laws you say you'll put forth. Maybe you should look out your window for once and see that predators aren't the problem, you fucking flat-tooth. Fuck," Blake got up out of his chair and trudged into the kitchen.

He searched around until he found his wine bottle, the same one from Thursday. He removed the cork and took a long drink from the bottle. He set the bottle back on the counter and wiped his face with his sleeve. He knew that in looking at the news, he would get angry, but he never envisioned that it would be enough to drive him to drink. Blake wasn't a drinker. He stared, disappointed, at the bottle on the counter.

"It's fucking bullshit, all of it," he said to himself. Out of anger, he balled his paw into a fist and swung at the drywall. His fist went straight through, leaving a small hole in the wall. This only served to make him angrier.

"God dammit," he said. Blake sat down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs. He lifted the arm he used to punch the wall and stared at the back of his paw. His pristine white fur was beginning to turn red from the blood leaking from his knuckles. Blake shook his head.

"I should probably stay away from the case for a couple days to cool off," Blake admitted. Blake got up from the chair and walked into the bathroom to wash the blood off from his paws.

* * *

 _'Long awaited' probably isn't the correct term, but it sure has been a while since I've updated anything. It all started when I got a particularly bad cold and missed an entire week of school. When I returned, I was met with a mountain of work. The fact is, I'm not even finished all of it when I post this. Only reason I was able to finish was because I had divided my workload across the next few days, and I finished today's tasks earlier than I expected. Regardless, I'm unsure as to if I will return to any sort of upload schedule until late June, but if that does happen, consider it a gift from me to you. A big thanks to those who actually waited for any sort of update from me. -Prince_


	11. Chapter 11 - Contradiction

The days following Saturday's whole 'Justice for Jude' incident were quite uneventful. Blake spent the majority of the Sunday lounging around, working on projects for other classes that he's been missing out on. He made sure to stay away from his computer so that he wouldn't be tempted to to wander over to the news sites. Instead, he spent his time alone in the college's expansive library. He stopped using it once he bought and assembled his desktop, and he had forgotten just how nice the space really was. While he was reading through one of his textbooks, he was reminded about just how much time he'd spent there.

Blake felt a light tapping on his left shoulder, breaking his concentration on a particularly interesting paragraph. He looked up to see what he could only guess is one of the college's custodians.

"Library's closed now, kid. You're gonna have to leave," he said softly. Blake glanced down at his phone, where the clock read '11:00 P.M.' Blake hastily packed up his books into his bag and threw it over his shoulder.

"Sorry about that, I must've lost track of time. I forgot how nice and quiet this place was," Blake replied.

"Mhmm," said the custodian. Blake waved goodbye as he made his way to the door. He navigated a few more hallways before reaching one of the building's many exits. The cold Borealis air hit Blake's face; a stark contrast to the heated library. He looked around to see exactly where he was. He turned around to see which exit he had taken. A sign above the door told him that he had just exited 'Door Q.' Door Q was the exit that happened to be the furthest from Blake's dorm. Blake sighed, and started walking.

Not thirty seconds into his journey, Blake began to really feel the cold. Earlier in the day, the temperature was quite warm for a day in late March, and he left his dorm without a sweater. Now that it was near midnight, the temperature had dropped significantly. Blake picked up his pace. The walk was pretty straight forward; just follow the delivery road all the way to the main parking lot, and from there, walk down the pedestrian path to the correct building. The sound of the nearby freeway kept the walk from being too quiet. Blake was about to pass the Science Wing Delivery Bay when-

"Calm down, it's not like it's not finished, I just left it in the lab," a voice said. Blake stopped dead. He silently walked toward the wall and pressed his back to it. He tip-toed to the corner entering the Delivery Bay to get within earshot of whomever was there. " _Do I have a key?_ Of course I have a key."

Blake peered around the corner, hoping to catch a glance of the source of the voice, but whomever it was had already entered the building. All Blake saw was the door closing behind them. Quietly, Blake made his way over to the Delivery Bay's door. Upon pulling on it, the door was locked.

 _They must've locked it behind them._ Blake thought. He sighed. With the door locked, there was no way for him to follow them and figure out what exactly they were doing. Blake resumed his walk back to his dorm.

Blake deposited his bag onto the bed and made his way over to the kitchen. He fetched a glass from one of the cupboards and filled it with water from the faucet. As he drank, he felt a vibration coming from his pocket. He set the now empty glass back down on the counter and reached into his pocket for his phone. A banner notification in the middle of the screen told him that he had received a text from Chief Maxwell. Blake unlocked the device and navigated to his messaging app. He tapped it, and the message from the Chief loaded instantly.

 _Blake, the interview with Boreal Botany will have to be moved to next Monday. I tried to get an earlier date, but this was the earliest they were available._

Blake stared at his screen and said nothing. Although he was looking forward to the interview, a week's delay would give him more time to himself. More specifically to reflect on how he's been acting lately. Blake typed out his response.

 _Don't worry about it, I have some things from other classes to take care of anyway. Give me a shout if you need me._

A few minutes passed and he received a response from Chief Maxwell

 _Will do._

Blake walked across the room and sat on his bed. He reached behind his nightstand, grasping for his phone charger. Once he found it, he plugged it into his phone and placed it down on the nightstand. Blake glanced at the clock on the wall across from his bed. It was nearing midnight, so Blake decided that it was best just to go to sleep now. Ten minutes passed, and he was ready for bed. Blake turned out the lights to the dorm. The only source of light now was the bright LED lights coming from the parking lot beyond the window. Blake climbed into his bed and lied down facing the wall. He closed his eyes in hopes that sleep would follow.

Fifteen minutes passed. Then thirty. Then forty-five. After sixty minutes, Blake gave up. He sat up against his headboard and sighed as he stared at the wall opposite his bed.

 _Who would into the building at such a late hour? What were they going in there to get? Who were they talking to?_ These were a few of the many questions buzzing around in Blake's head. A few minutes passed and his train of thought began to slow. A few more, and he had fallen asleep.

The next morning Blake woke up feeling well rested, however he did have a mild headache. He pulled the covers off of himself and sat on the edge of his bed. A quick glance at the clock on his nightstand told him that it was eleven A.M. Blake stood upright and stretched his back. He trudged over to his dresser and grabbed random bits and pieces until he was able to make a full outfit. His next destination was the washroom. He placed his clothes on the counter and grabbed himself a towel from the shelf across from the sink.

After brushing his teeth, he ran himself a shower. Once out of yesterday's clothes, he stepped inside, allowing the warm water to pour over his fur. After allowing himself to soak for a bit, he began to plan out his day in his head.

 _What am I gonna do today? I kind of lied to the Chief when I said I had a bunch of extra work to do. On top of that, I was really banking on going in for that interview._

Blake reached for one of the soap bottles and poured a small dollop into his paw and he began scrubbing himself down.

 _I just can't get what happened at the Delivery Bay out of my head. The most like reason someone was there was that he forgot something in one of the labs and he was just going to get it. but my gut feeling is telling me otherwise. I don't usually go off of instincts, but of the times I have, I haven't been wrong. I think I'll pay the Science Majors a visit and see if I can get anything out of them. It's a long-shot, but a shot nonetheless._

Blake rinsed the soap from his fur and turned off the tap. He reached for the towel just outside the tub and wiped his face on it, so he was able to see where he was stepping. He spent a few minutes drying himself off enough so that it wouldn't show on the clothes he was wearing. Freshly showered, he stepped back out into his dorm and toward the large window across from his bed. He was greeted with the warm midday sun shining through his windows, which was the best type of sun. Blake's ears peaked suddenly as he picked up a faint sound. He looked behind him to see that his phone's screen was illuminated; he had received a text message.

He walked toward the nightstand and unplugged the phone from it's cord. The text message was from Stephen, it read:

 _Good morning! How are you?_

Blake smiled at the message. Stephen was always one to use proper punctuation in his texts. Blake tapped out his response.

 _It technically isn't morning anymore, bud. But I'm doing fine._

A few seconds passed, and Blake watched the bouncing dots as Stephen typed.

 _Haha. I'm doing just fine, by the way. I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me and a few of my buddies. What say you?_

Blake's smile began to dissipate. As much as he would like a day to just hang out with friends, he knew his active mind would come back to haunt him in the form of endless questions.

 _Sorry, Steph. I have some things to do today. Maybe later this week?_

Blake waited for an answer, but none came right away. For a moment, he was worried that he may have hurt Stephen's feelings, but just as he was about to text him to apologize, the bouncing dots made their return.

 _Oh, well that's okay. We can hang out some other time._

With that, Blake closed the messenger app and stared at the lock screen. Blake squinted at the date, as something seemed a bit off. It read 'Monday, April 2nd.'

"As if it's already April," Blake said aloud. He didn't even bother grabbing a sweater from the rack as he made his way to the door. All he grabbed was his phone and his wallet. He reached for the door knob and turned it. Just as he was about to step out into the hallway, he noticed his reflection in the mirror above the key rack. On his left cheek, going over his eye and up onto his forehead, he saw that his previously snow-white fur was beginning to turn a into a slate grey. "Spring has indeed sprung," Blake said before leaving the dorm.

Blake was careful not to step in any puddles on his way to the main building. With the temperatures above their seasonal average that day, the snow was melting rather quickly. After an impromptu game of hopscotch on the walkway, he arrived at the main entrance. The first place to check was the cafeteria, since it was the closest. The cafeteria wasn't too far from the entrance. The main building was designed this way so students and staff wouldn't have to navigate a maze of hallways in order to reach it. Within seconds of entering the main building, Blake had arrived at the entrance to the cafeteria. He scanned over the room, hoping to find the Science Majors. As expected, the group was at their usual table.

As he approached them, he noticed that every seat was taken except for one. Approaching closer, he noticed that Ryder was missing again, and assumed the seat was his. With a sudden jolt of confidence, Blake strolled right up to the empty chair and took a seat. Everyone else at the table glared at the fox, who remained unmoved by their stares.

"Oh look, an uninvited guest," said Dez coldly. Blake glanced over at the buck, who had just finished closing his notebook.

"Oh look, unnecessary comments," Blake returned. Everyone shifted their gaze to Dez, who simply rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I need something from you guys again, would you care to assist?" he asked.

"What do you want then?" Dez asked. Blake smirked.

"Well, I just wanted to know where you all were last night, at around quarter to midnight," Blake asked. A few other group members gave him confused expressions. Dez sneered toward Blake.

"And just what makes that your business?" Dez asked. Blake stood up and began pacing around the table.

"It's my business because at that time last night, I watched someone enter the Science Wing through the Delivery Bay. If that isn't odd enough for you, they seemed to be talking to someone, most likely over the phone. The mammal going into the building reassured whoever was on at the other end of the line that 'It's not like it's not finished,' and that they 'left it in the lab.' I want to know what they went in to get, and why," Blake explained. Everyone at the table gave him an odd stare. Blake stopped his pacing.

"So, would any of you be able to provide me with the details that I'm missing?" he asked. Everyone exchanged looks, but nobody spoke. Blake sighed. "Fine, I suppose we'll start with you," Blake said. pointing at the otter at the farthest end of the table. The otter's eyes snapped to Blake, caught off guard by being addressed directly. The otter fumbled with his thick-rimmed glasses as he tried to string together a sentence.

"I was at home...working on-" he began, before being interrupted.

"Come on, fox. Why do you have to intimidate the freshman?" Dez asked angrily. It was Blake's turn to roll his eyes.

"I think he was doing just fine before you so rudely interrupted him," he began. He gestured toward the otter. "Go on," he said.

"I was in my dorm working on my essay," the otter stated. "Dana can vouch for me, right Dana?" he asked, gesturing toward the coyote across from him.

"Yup, I was helping him with his terrible grammar and sentence structure," replied Dana. Blake nodded.

"Okay, so that's two of you, how about you?" Blake said, pointing at the moose sitting next to Dez.

"I was asleep at home. I had a presentation this morning and I didn't want to look half dead in front of my peers," he said. Blake chuckled lightly.

"I can relate to that. Three down...that leaves only you, Dez," Blake said. "What were you up to?" Dez was visibly frustrated.

"I was in my dorm watching TV by myself. Happy?" Dez said. Blake nodded.

"I currently don't have any reason to doubt you, so in short, yes. Although what you've told me doesn't assist me in the slightest, I appreciate the help." As Blake started toward the exit, he remembered one last thing he wanted to ask. "Oh, before I go, where's Ryder?" he asked.

"He's in his lab, where he usually is, good luck coaxing him out," Dana said. Blake smiled.

"Thanks," he said before taking off toward the exit. Blake left the cafeteria and made for the main entrance. The Science Wing was the furthest from the main building, so Blake was forced back outside, as the Science Wing was it's own complex, separate from the rest of the college. The afternoon sun was really doing a number on the snow outside. The previously pearly-white banks were beginning to turn brown due to the amount of sand packed inside them. Blake was cautious to avoid any puddles on the way there.

Blake entered the Science Wing through it's main entrance. This building didn't have much of a foyer, as it was around the size of a small waiting room. There were a few couches and chairs, and boards lined the walls with various papers posted on them. Beyond the room was a long hallway containing the actual labs that the students worked in. The structure was four storeys, each with around twenty rooms. After having this revelation, Blake sighed.

He started down the hallway toward the first door. As he was about to knock, he heard the sound of a door closing a ways down the hall. He glanced toward the source of the noise. Ryder had just exited what could only be his lab.

"Hey, Ryder!" Blake called. He began jogging down the hallway to catch up to Ryder, as his call hadn't attracted his attention. "Ryder!" He tried again, but this time a little louder. It worked. Ryder stopped and turned his head to see the fox running toward him.

"Er, hello," Ryder replied quietly. "You shouldn't yell, as other mammals are working here, and you probably shouldn't run in the halls either," Blake slowed his pace and matched Ryder's walking speed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can I ask you a couple things?" Blake asked. The beaver didn't look up to meet Blake's eyes, he adjusted his glasses and looked at the wall.

"Fine, but make it quick. I have a few things to take care of at home," Ryder replied.

"Oh, that's no problem. All I wanted to ask you is where you were at around quarter to midnight last night," said Blake. Ryder furrowed his brow.

"That's a bit intrusive, don't you think?" Ryder asked. Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I want to know because I watched someone enter this building last night at around that time when I was walking back from the library," Blake explained. Ryder's expression didn't change.

"What makes that your business?" Ryder asked.

"Because whoever it was said something about something not being finished, and that they left it in the lab. The door was locked when I tried to follow them in, so they must've had a key." Blake replied. Ryder put a paw up to his face.

"Well if they had a key, then they must have clearance to enter the building. Again, what makes this your business?" Ryder asked again, frustrated. Blake's eyes narrowed.

"Because I was curious? And you never answered my initial question. Where were you last night?" Blake demanded. Ryder jumped slightly at the loudness of Blake's voice. He looked up to meet Blake's eyes for the first time since they began their exchange.

"I was at home in my room reviewing notes from last week. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going now," Ryder spat. He threw open the door leading outside and stormed down the walkway, leaving Blake alone in the foyer. Blake shook his head and looked toward the ground.

 _Unbelievable. It should not be that difficult to get something so simple from someone. Well, you're zero for five, Blake. Time to think of something else._

Blake pushed open the door and began walking down the walkway, still staring at the ground. He reached the end of the walkway and turned left when-

"Oh, Blake. How've you been?" said a voice from behind. Blake stopped and turned around to see who had called his name. Standing at the end of the walkway was a familiar looking ferret. Blake smiled.

"Josh! I've been good. What are you doing here? This isn't even your campus," Blake said. The ferret chuckled.

"I know, I just came to bring Ryder his keychain. I was gonna go out and run some errands when I noticed he forgot his keys, which obviously have the housekey on it," Josh explained. Blake nodded.

"Did you already go in?" Blake asked. Josh shook his head.

"No, I was just about to go in, then I saw you walking," Josh replied.

"Oh, well, he's not there. He just left. I was talking with him as he was leaving. He seemed a bit irritable, and was being quite difficult," Blake explained. Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Usually he's really chill. What were you two talking about? He can get really heated about certain video games, so if it was-"

"No, it wasn't that." Blake said, cutting Josh off. "All I did was ask him where he was last night at quarter to midnight. It took a while, but he eventually answered saying he was in his room. Something I don't doubt," Blake said. Josh grew confused.

"He said that?" he asked. Blake nodded. "That's strange. At that time, I was heading upstairs to bed and I knocked on his door to tell him that I was turning in for the night. There was no answer, so I knocked. No answer again, so I turned the door handle. The door opened, revealing that it was empty. I was surprised, because when Ryder goes anywhere, he locks the door. He must've been in quite a hurry to leave if he forgot to lock the door," Josh said. Blake was shocked, but kept a neutral expression.

"That _is_ strange, isn't it?" Blake said.

"I agree with you there, bud. I don't know if what I said helped or not, but whatever." Josh shoved his paws into the pockets of his sweater. "Anyway, I should probably get back to the house. Without his keys, he's gonna be stuck out there for a while," Josh said. As he was turning to head back home, he quickly turned back around and squinted at Blake's face. Blake stood, confused. "Oh, you got a little dirt on your face there, bud," he said, pointing at Blake. Blake rolled his eyes.

"No, that's just what my fur looks like when spring rolls around. By the time the semester ends, I'll pretty much be all grey," Blake explained. Josh chuckled lightly.

"Well there you go, then. I'm off now, see ya," he said, walking away from Blake.

"See ya," Blake replied. Blake began walking down the path toward the residence section, avoiding puddles for a third time that day.

 _Ryder lied to me, but for what purpose? I can't be one hundred percent certain that was him yesterday, but he's definitely a suspect now. I'll confront him about it next time I see him._

The walk back to his dorm was uneventful, and all the while he managed not to get his paws covered with mud. Regardless, he still wiped them off on the doormat before entering his building. He fetched his keys from his pocket before arriving at his door. He unlocked it, and stepped inside. He placed his keys on the key rack and took a seat in his computer chair. He took his phone out of his pocket and tossed it lightly on the computer desk. He glanced down at the device, noticing there was a text notification, as well as a missed call notification, both from Chief Maxwell.

 _Good news, Blake. I was able to move the interview from next Monday to tomorrow. It's a lunch meeting, so come to the Headquarters at around ten-thirty._

Blake sighed. From receiving the text about the interview the previous night, to the one just then, his desire to go in for an interview had diminished significantly. He initially wanted to go in for the interview to get a list of mammals that they sell Night Howlers to, but since he spent the majority of the day trying to figure out who went into the Science Wing after hours, his interest had shifted to that, especially since he now had a proper suspect. Begrudgingly, Blake typed out a response to the Chief's message.

 _Excellent! I'll be there for sure._

Blake sighed and tossed his phone onto his bed. He turned to face his computer and turned the monitor on. When the screen appeared, he immediately opened his internet browser and went into his settings. He scrolled down until he found the 'On Startup' tab and turned off the option for custom pages. He tested his change by opening a new tab. A tab containing a search engine appeared instead of the news site, confirming the change had worked.

 _Maybe that'll make me less scared to use my computer._ Blake thought.

Blake glanced at the clock in the bottom-right corner of the screen. It read '1:30.' It had only been two and a half hours since he got up. Blake rolled himself in his chair over to his bed and he picked up his phone. He opened up his conversation with Stephen and began typing.

 _You said you and your buds were gonna do something today. Did you already go?_

Blake expected there to be no response, but Stephen came online in an instant and began typing a response.

 _Yeah, we decided that we would just stay in though. The offer's still open if you wanted to come chill with us. We're at my dorm, so we're not too far._

Blake typed his answer.

 _Yeah, I was just about to ask if I could join you. I'll be up in a minute._

Blake put his phone in his pocket and headed toward the door.

* * *

 _We have surpassed one thousand views, which is pretty sweet. Your reward is this here chapter. I did this instead of my homework. -Prince._


	12. Chapter 12 - The Wolf's Den

Blake waved goodbye to Stephen as he closed the door. The other group members had taken their leave a few hours prior. Blake stayed because he lived only one floor down, but a part of him stayed because it's been a while since he spent some real quality time with his friend. They spent their one-on-one time talking about current events, Blake obviously omitting the bit of sleuthing he's been doing as of late. The two foxes shared a drink, and when the clock struck ten, Blake left, but not before giving Stephen a hug.

Blake entered his dorm, closing and locking the door behind him. Throughout the day, the subject of the meeting with Boreal Botany remained in his head. He thought of ways to get out of the meeting, but none of them would pass without him sounding suspicious. He eventually gave up and decided to endure it, because there was still the possibility that it could lead to something. Blake shut off all the lights and got into bed. He had a quite the day ahead of him tomorrow.

Despite going to bed earlier than usual, Blake was still tired when he woke up. He groaned as he sat up and climbed out of his bed. After brushing his teeth and taking a shower, Blake took to his dresser to pick out an outfit. Having done the laundry the previous week, his choices were plentiful. He decided on the outfit that Stephen had made for him on the night they went to the party. It looked professional enough, without going too over the top for a lunch meeting. Satisfied, Blake grabbed his phone and his keys, and made his way out the door.

The low overnight temperatures had caused the puddles created the day before to turn into miniature ice rinks. Snowbanks, though considerably smaller, remained parallel to the walkway. The snow was stained a horrible brown colour due to the sand used to prevent slipping, something Blake liked to call 'snirt,' a combination of snow and dirt. Blake carefully navigated the icy parking lot to his car, which he had started using the remote starter. He got in and inserted the key into the ignition. Blake put on his seat belt and shifted the vehicle into reverse. He exited the parking lot and made his way to the freeway.

Traffic was light that morning, allowing Blake to reach the HQ relatively quickly. He parked his a short distance away from the building and began walking. The inside of the building was rather lively for a Saturday morning, with employees walking up and down the halls, talking amongst each other, and officers entering and exiting. Blake turned right down the hall and made his way towards Maxwell's office. On the way there, he narrowly avoided getting hit with one of the research team employee's briefcases. He arrived at Maxwell's door and gave it a light knock. The Chief opened the door, smiling.

"Ah, right on time. Good morning, Blake," the Chief said. Blake entered the office while Maxwell closed the door behind him. His mentors, Nick and Judy, had already arrived and were sitting adjacent to the Chief's desk. Blake took the last empty chair next to Judy. Maxwell returned to his seat behind his desk shortly after.

"Good morning, Chief," Blake finally replied. Maxwell glanced at the three mammals seated in front of him.

"Now that you're all here, we can begin. You three have a lunch meeting with a member of Boreal Botany's records department today," he began. Before Maxwell could start another sentence, he was quickly interrupted by Nick.

"Wait, you're not coming with us? Why not?" Nick asked. Maxwell looked at his computer screen, then back to Nick.

"No, I have much to do today, and I wasn't able to fit a meeting in," Maxwell replied. Nick didn't answer. "Regardless, you are there to retrieve a list of clients who have purchased any strain of Night Howler from them. If successful, we can narrow our search and possibly find something that can lead us to our culprit. It's ten-thirty now, and you will leave at eleven-thirty to be at Boreal Botanical Gardens at noon. Understood?" Maxwell shouted. Nick and Blake nodded.

"Yes, sir!" Judy replied at an equal volume.

"Good. Dismissed!" Maxwell said, turning back to his computer monitor. The three mammals rose from their seats and exited the office in a single-file line. With an hour to kill, they made their way to the break room, which was on the other side of the building.

"What are we gonna do for an hour?" asked Judy, leading the way to the break room.

"Dunno," Blake replied, following close behind.

"How about something to think about. For example, why isn't the Chief joining us for this meeting?" Nick asked from the back of the group. Judy turned her head to look at the fox. She rolled her eyes.

"Nick, Maxwell clearly said he has stuff to do today. Just take a look around," Judy motioned at the unusual business of the HQ. "Does it look like he has time to be away from the building?" Judy asked. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no, but you think he would make time for something this important," Nick replied.

"If he doesn't have time for this, that must mean he has much more important things to deal with. He is Chief of Police, after all," said Judy.

"If there are more important things than this, then why don't we know about them?" asked Nick in response to Judy. She sighed.

"You don't get to question what information he chooses to withhold or pass on. Remember what Bogo said before we left? We're supposed to treat Maxwell with the same respect we treat Bogo. He may not be _our_ Chief, but we're under his supervision as long as we're here." Judy replied, raising her voice. The trio arrived at the break room door. Judy opened it and disappeared inside. Blake, not wanting to aggravate either Nick or Judy, entered the room right behind the rabbit. Nick followed close behind Blake, closing the door behind him.

"So now I don't have the right to ask questions about authority figures? Strange, considering who's telling me," Nick said, taking a seat across from Judy.

"I never said that, Nicholas. All I said is that he has his reasons to hold information back, and that you respect his decision. Besides, what reason do you have to be skeptical? Judy asked, leaning on the table. Nick furrowed his brows and shook his head.

"I'm always skeptical, I have been for most of my life. I was skeptical of you when I met you, I was skeptical of Blake when I met him, and I'm skeptical about Chief Maxwell. I'm just a skeptical mammal, okay?" Nick returned as he looked out the window. Judy groaned.

"Okay, but-"

"Stop!" yelled Blake. Both mammals turned to stare at Blake, who had a paw held up to his right temple. "Stop. Your yelling is giving me a headache. Plus, I would prefer if your partnership were to remain intact before we arrive at the botanical gardens. While it is odd that Maxwell isn't joining us, what with how crucial this could be, I could not care less what else he's doing today. Let's just get this done as quickly as possible okay?" said Blake bitterly. He had been subject to their bickering for less than ten minutes and he was already sick of it. Nick and Judy exchanged glances, and nodded their heads in unison.

"Right, no more fighting," Nick said.

The hour passed without another word from either of them. Once eleven-thirty rolled around, they got up, remaining silent, and left the building. They entered an available squad car and left the lot. The botanical gardens were a little bit out of town, so they were forced to take the freeway. Blake leaned against the window watching the vehicles in the opposing lanes zip by. Judy stared downward at her cell phone, presumably ridding herself of those annoying notification bubbles. Nick kept his eyes on the road.

"I just thought of something," Blake began, "Why can't we just get the list and then leave?" Nick glanced at Blake in the rear-view mirror.

"Probably because it's polite to actually sit down and chat. It does seem kind of rude to just walk in, demand a paper with sensitive information and then leave, no?" Nick replied. Blake pondered it for a bit, then nodded to himself.

After another gruelling twenty minutes of silence, Nick pulled the squad car off the freeway and onto a poorly maintained country road. Another five minutes later, and a large half brick, half glass building could be seen in the distance. Nick pulled the car into the botanical garden's parking lot and parked in an open space. The three mammals piled out of the vehicle and began walking toward the front door.

"Quite the structure," Nick stated as they entered. The large glass dome that made up the roof reflected sunlight in all directions, causing the foyer to light up just as bright as it was outside. Slowly, they walked deeper into the first room, where they were greeted by a bespectacled black panther. The panther smiled and held out a paw.

"Welcome to the Boreal Botanical Garden. How may I be of assistance?" he asked. His voice was velvety smooth and was easy on the ears. Nick reached out and shook the panther's paw.

"Yeah, hi. We're here about a meeting with an employee of the records department," Nick replied. The panther nodded once and reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out a small notebook and flipped through the pages.

"Excellent. I will have to ask your names, however," said the panther. He gave a quick glance at each of the mammals in front of him.

"Oh, well alright. I'm Nicholas Wilde, the one to my right is Judy Hopps, and to my left, Blake McInnes, all of the Borealis Metropolitan Police," Nick said. Blake's heart jumped when he heard Nick refer to him as a member of the force. The panther smiled and began walking down one of the hallways.

"Follow me please," he said. They obliged. The panther led them down a tall and narrow hallway with large skylights lighting up the space. He stopped in front of one of the dark wooden doors and opened it. He motioned for the three to enter. "Ms. Ransbury is in there waiting for you." he said. The three walked into the room, and sure enough, a large grey wolf was sitting at a large table in the centre of the room.

"Please have a seat," said Ms. Ransbury. The three walked up to the table and sat down in the three chairs placed across from where Ms. Ransbury was sitting. As they sat down, it was then when they realized just how small they were compared to the wolf, Judy especially. Ms. Ransbury glared down at the trio over her glasses. She lazily tapped the table with her claws, staring over Nick's head. Nick, Judy, and Blake all exchanged confused expressions. Nick, growing tired of nothing happening, broke the silence.

"Er, Ms. Ransbury, right? Is everything okay?" Nick asked quietly, wanting to sound concerned. Ms. Ransbury did not respond immediately. Her eyes darted toward the door.

"Could you close the door for us, Toby?" said Ms. Ransbury. Nick, Judy, and Blake all turned around in their seats and glanced at the door. The black panther, now known as Toby, was in the process of closing the door. Once the deed was done, they all turned back to face Ms. Ransbury, whose paws were clasped together on the desk. "Excellent. Now we may discuss our goals freely," Nick turned to Blake.

"Blake? Care to tell the nice wolf why we're here?" Nick asked slyly. Blake's eyes widened. He had not expected to do any of the talking, he was already so used to either Nick or Judy doing it. He thought about things to say to get out of it, but eventually decided to just deal with it, as it would seem rather childish to avoid talking to another adult because of nerves. Blake inhaled slowly. He turned to wolf in front of him and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Okay, so, my colleagues and I are here because we would like to request a list of customers to whom you sell the Night Howler plant," Blake stated. Ms. Ransbury raised an eyebrow as she leaned forward in her seat. As she leaned in, Blake leaned back.

"There is more than one kind of 'Night Howler plant.'" Ms. Ransbury said dryly. Blake cleared his throat.

"The one we're looking for is the strain used for medical research and development. Midnicampum holicithias, if I'm not mistaken," Blake replied. Ms. Ransbury retreated back into her seat, peering at Blake through her thick-rimmed glasses. She began drumming her claws on the table again. Blake glanced over at Nick and Judy with an apologetic look on his face. Nick shrugged his shoulders.

"And what do you plan on accomplishing with this information?" Ms. Ransbury inquired. Blake rolled his eyes.

"We need it so we can narrow down our search area. If we know who you sell to, then we won't have to waste time and resources investigating dead ends. You're aware of the recent attacks, right?" Blake replied irritably. Ms. Ransbury frowned and looked out the window to her right. The window led into one of the three main bio-domes of the botanical garden. The condensation on the window was indicative of the high humidity inside the dome. Ms. Ransbury looked back toward the three officers, expression unchanged.

"Yes I am. Horrible stuff, absolutely horrible" she said solemnly. She stared down at the walnut surface of her desk. "What would happen if I were to refuse to give your our customer records?" She asked. At this point, Blake was growing tired of the impromptu game of twenty questions.

"If you were to refuse, then our investigations would be delayed. Possibly long enough for another large scale attack to take place. If you were to refuse, you would be endangering the lives of the millions of mammals that live in Borealis and surrounding areas," Blake replied bitterly, staring daggers through Ms. Ransbury's glasses. Ms. Ransbury did not answer right away. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. Her lips curled into a small smile before she sat upright again.

"Eloquently put. Well done. May I get your name?" Ms. Ransbury said. She extended her arm toward Blake, offering to shake. Blake stood up and took her paw, shaking firmly.

"Blake McInnes, Miss," Blake stated. Ms. Ransbury reached toward what looked like a corded phone and pressed one of the buttons on the cradle.

"Toby? Please fetch a copy of the sales list for the specimen 'midnicampum holicithias' and bring it to me," she said to no one in particular. A few seconds passed before a reply came from the on-board speaker.

"Right away, Miss," replied Toby. Ms. Ransbury returned to Blake, a smile on her face.

"I will be honest with you, Mr. McInnes, I was skeptical about your visit at first, but you managed to convince me through your speech. To that, I commend you. I'm truly impressed," said the wolf. Blake blushed, scratching his neck.

"Ah, thanks, but you don't have to commend me for anything," Blake replied. Ms. Ransbury giggled.

"Modest too. You've found yourself quite the student, Officer Wilde," Ms. Ransbury mused. Nick chuckled in return.

"Yep. Best part is, this was Blake's idea in the first place. He's been a huge help on this case so far, resourceful fella," Nick returned. Blake sank further into his seat. Nick, Judy, and Ms. Ransbury conversed amongst each other for the next few minutes. The talking ceased when a light knocking came from the door behind them. Ms. Ransbury called for them to come in, and Toby, the panther from earlier, had entered holding a sealed brown envelope. Toby walked up to Ms. Ransbury's desk and slid the envelope in front of her.

"Here you are, Miss," he said. Ms. Ransbury smiled.

"Thank you, Toby. You may leave," replied Ms. Ransbury. Toby nodded and left the room. Ms. Ransbury visually inspected the envelope before handing it to Blake. "Mr. McInnes, please do be wary of the information you possess. It is sensitive, and could be harmful if in wrongful possession,"

"I'll be careful, Miss. You have my word," Blake said, clutching the envelope tightly in his paws. Blake and Ms. Ransbury returned to their seats. Ms. Ransbury glanced at the watch strapped to her wrist. She looked back toward the trio.

"Well, I must be going. I have much else to do today. It was a pleasure meeting with you three. Toby will see you out," she said. With that, she rose from her seat and left the room, leaving Nick, Blake, and Judy alone.

Toby guided them down the hallway and out into the parking lot. They each said goodbye to Toby before entering the squad car. Due to the unseasonably high temperatures, Nick activated the air conditioning as soon as he started the vehicle. The three of them climbed in and strapped themselves in. Nick threw the vehicle into drive and left the parking lot. As they drove, Blake sat staring down at his lap, where he had placed the brown envelope containing the sales records.

"So, what does it say?" Judy asked. Blake snapped out of whatever daze he was in and looked at Judy.

"What does it say?" Blake replied. Judy shifted in her seat.

"Yeah, what does it say? Who have they sold to?"

"I haven't opened the envelope yet,"

"Well, open it then," Nick added. Blake nodded and slowly tore the envelope open. The envelope contained but one paper. Blake read over it quickly before shoving his paw back into the envelope to search for another paper, only to find that there were no more papers.

"This can't be right," Blake said. Nick looked at Blake in the rear-view mirror and raised an eyebrow.

"What can't be right?" Nick asked.

"There's only one paper in here,"

"What does the paper say?"

"It says that they've sold nearly five-thousand dollars worth of high-grade specimen to Fanshawe College in Borealis, Animalia, but that's all it says," Blake stated dejectedly. Nick sighed.

"Maybe they didn't give us all the papers?" Judy asked hopefully. Blake scanned over the paper again. He shook his head.

"There aren't any more papers to give," Blake said. He was alluding to the little number in the top-right corner of the page, '1/1.' The severe lack of buyers had effectively ruined Blake's mood for the rest of the day.

Nick and Judy dropped Blake off back at his dorm at around two o'clock. He trudged across the sweltering parking lot and into his dorm block. He traversed the building until he reached his room. He unlocked the door and disappeared inside. He threw the envelope, as well as the contents of his pockets onto the kitchen table and flopped onto his bed. He rolled over onto his back and fell into a deep thought.

 _Perhaps the school might be worth checking out. If they're they only seller around for miles, then whomever is creating this serum has to be getting their supply of midnicampum holicithias from the school... That is unless they've been breaking into the botanical garden on a regular basis... No, if they'd been doing that, then it certainly would have been on the news. Now, who here has access to the Night Howlers sold to the school? There's the Professor... Nah, he's too calm a mammal to even have a violent thought, let alone a criminal one. There's Brett, but he's still recovering in hospital, meaning the only other mammal who has access to them is-_

"Ryder!" Blake exclaimed.

* * *

 _Oh look, an update. Cool. -Prince_


	13. Chapter 13 - Ryder Awry

After his little epiphany, the first thing Blake wanted to do was inform the Chief. However, there was the issue that he hadn't even told him about the Science Wing ordeal. He considered calling up the Chief right then and there to tell him the whole story, but decided against it, as he didn't have the patience for it at the time. As quickly as Blake entered his dorm, he exited it and left the building. He was determined to get answers out of Ryder.

He ran across the campus to the Science Wing, garnering a few watchers as he ran past them. Since it was Tuesday afternoon, there was a high possibility of him being at work in his lab. He pushed open the door with excess force and speed-walked down the hallway toward Ryder's lab. He counted the numbers on the doors until he reached the one he was looking for. He stared at the door for a few moments, thinking of what would happen when Ryder opened the door. The building was heavily populated at this time, and he and Ryder's back and forth arguing would most definitely garner an audience.

None of that mattered to Blake, however. All he wanted was to intimidate the hell out of Ryder and get him to talk, no matter the repercussions he would face. Blake knocked the door, again with unnecessary force, and waited for the little beaver to answer. Stirring could be heard from inside the room. One, then two minutes passed; Blake was growing impatient. After five whole minutes, Blake was more furious than he had ever been. The door handle turned, Blake was ready to release his pent up anger, but the mammal answering the door was not a beaver, it was a wolf. A wolf by the name of Brett Marshall.

"Can I help you?" Brett asked, wiping his paws with a rag. Blake's anger disappeared near instantly.

"Er- have we met?" Blake asked. The wolf raised an eyebrow.

"I don't believe so," Brett answered.

"That's what I thought. I know your name, by the way," Brett sighed.

"Yeah, it appears everyone does. Ever since the attack..." Brett stared solemnly at the floor in between the him and Blake.

"Regardless, when did you get out of the hospital?" Blake asked. Brett leaned on the door frame and looked back up at Blake.

"Yesterday. I went home immediately after to avoid getting swarmed by the media. When my mom and I were walking back to the car, they just wouldn't leave me alone. They were all yelling questions at me, taking pictures of me. It gave me a headache. Worst of all, they followed us home. Thankfully my dad is quite intimidating, and they all kind of fucked off after that," Brett said.

"Ah, at least things ended well. Glad to know you're doing okay, at least," Blake replied. Brett nodded before glancing back into the lab, then back to Blake.

"You never answered my question. Is there something I can help you with?" asked Brett. Blake suddenly remembered why he was there in the first place. The shock of Brett returning out of the blue distracted him from his goal.

"Yeah, there is. Do you know where Ryder is?" Brett's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.

"Not exactly, but if I had to guess, he'd be at home. I tried texting him and calling him, but either my texts aren't getting through, or he may have blocked my number. I don't know what for if that's the case. Communication is imperative if he still wants to have me as his partner. What did you need him for, anyway?" Brett asked.

"I need to have a little chat with him," Blake replied coolly. Brett nodded. Brett was about to head back into the lab when he turned back to Blake one last time.

"I never got your name, by the way," he said. Blake groaned.

"Sorry, it's a habit of mine. I'm Blake." Brett smiled.

"Sweet, I'll see if I can find you on social media," Brett said, before closing the door. Blake stared at the door for a few seconds before finally turning to walk away. He felt himself cycle through many different emotions as he strolled down the hallway. He was irritated that Ryder wasn't where he expected him to be. He was relieved that Brett had made a full recovery and back doing his thing. Blake sighed loudly as he pushed open the glass door to the Science Wing. The weather was unseasonably warm again that day, especially with it being early April. The snow that once covered the ground was entirely gone, leaving unsightly piles of sand and salt on the paths and walkways. Blake absentmindedly kicked at the pebbles on the path as he thought about what he would do next.

 _Going off of what Brett told me, Ryder has been off the radar since at yesterday at least. However, Brett's only been out of hospital since yesterday, so there's a possibility that his Science Major buddies have been talking to him and vice-versa. I really hate to talk to interrogate them a third time, but I guess I don't really have a choice at the moment. I want to make sure that he hasn't been around before I make another house visit._

Blake took the nearest detour to the Main Building, where the Science Majors would normally congregate. Blake walked through the open door into the Atrium, where he navigated the swarms of students to the hallway leading to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was oddly full for two in the afternoon, especially since it was a Wednesday. Regardless, Blake was able to find the mammals sitting at their usual table. The group was much smaller today, most likely because they were all either in class, or working on assignments. Occupying the table were Dez, a coyote named Dana, and an otter whose name Blake did not know.

The three mammals sitting at the table took no notice of Blake's approach. Two of the three mammals, Dez and the unnamed otter, had binders spread out across the surface of the table. Dana had a laptop computer set up and was glancing back and forth between the screen and the otter's binder. Blake unceremoniously grabbed a chair from the table behind them and slid it into the open space to the otter's left. The three mammals looked up at Blake, confused. Dez sighed and furrowed his brows.

"To what do I owe the displeasure of seeing your face again?" Dez asked dryly. Dana and the otter both turned to Blake for a reaction. Blake's expression remained neutral as he quickly glanced into the eyes of Dana and the otter, before returning to Dez.

"An age old question, as it seems. I need to know where Ryder is once again. Did you know that Brett got out of the hospital?" Blake said as he leaned back in his chair. Dez blinked once and crossed his arms.

"I don't know where Ryder is at the moment, and I don't know who this 'Brett' character is," Dez replied. Blake nodded as he processed Dez's answer.

"Any ideas?" he asked hopefully. The buck shook his head.

"Nope. Ask Adam, he lives with him,"

The otter's head shot up from his paper when he heard his name. The name had also garnered Dana's attention. Blake held out a paw for Adam to shake. Adam reluctantly returned the gesture and sank down into his seat.

"Don't worry, bud. I don't bite. My name's Blake in case you haven't been paying attention. So this guy behind me says that you live with Ryder?" Blake asked calmly. Adam sat up and shook his head. Dez rolled his eyes.

"That's right...why do you ask?" Adam replied quietly.

"Because I want to know where he is so I can talk to him," Blake stated. The anxiousness that Adam was displaying was quickly melting away.

"Well, I'm just as clueless as these two are. I haven't seen him around since Monday morning. He left in a hurry and didn't come back that night," said Adam. Blake stared at the floor, nodding.

"Do you know where he could have gone? Did he say anything about going out of town?" Blake asked.

"If he was going out of town, he would have told us," said Dana.

"Curiouser and curiouser. Wait. So he's been gone since Monday morning?" Blake asked. Adam nodded. "So... he's missing," The phrase took a few moments to register in Blake's mind.

 _Ryder is missing. Ryder. Is. Missing._

"That's one way to put it, I guess," Adam said. Blake was no longer paying attention to either of the mammals at the table. A mammal that Blake considered to be a suspect in this whole Night Howler problem had just disappeared into thin air. The realization was setting in.

"Excuse me, guys. I remembered I had a paper to turn in," Blake lied. He got up and ran from the table out into the Atrium. He dodged and weaved between groups of students, careful not to run into anyone. He pushed open the door with the full weight of his body and broke into a sprint toward the residence block. Blake's track and field days were long behind him, and he was gasping for air by the time he reached his dorm. He burst into his room and quickly swiped his car keys from the kitchen table. He hastily locked the door behind him and sprinted out into the parking lot.

Blake shoved the key into the ignition and wrenched it forward. The engine sprang to life and Blake threw the car into reverse. He impatiently navigated the parking lot and made his way to the street. Luckily, traffic was light and he was able to make it from the campus to the freeway in less than five minutes. Once on the freeway, Blake stomped on the gas pedal and the car sped up easily past the speed limit. At that moment, he didn't care about his reckless driving. All he wanted to do was get to Ryder's townhouse as fast as possible.

Blake was well aware that checking the townhouse was a long-shot, but he wanted to be sure that he hadn't mysteriously disappeared and that he was right where he normally was; in his room, working on schoolwork. Blake pulled onto the street that the house was situated on, still going unnecessarily fast. As he drew nearer to the house, he saw a figure pacing back and forth on the lawn in front of the house. It was Josh, the ferret he had met at the party held almost a week prior. Blake stopped the vehicle in front of the house, causing Josh to look up from the ground.

"Hey, Josh. What's going on? Why are you outside?" Blake asked. Josh did not lower the device from his ear. He glanced up at Blake.

"Hey, Blake. I'm glad you showed up. Some fucked up shit just happened while I was gone," Josh replied. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"What? What happened?" Blake asked. Before Josh could answer, whomever he was calling must've finally picked up.

"Yes, someone broke into my house while I was gone. They forced open the front door..." It became apparent that Josh had dialled 9-1-1.

"Wait, wait, hold on. Someone broke into your house?" Blake asked.

"Yes. No, nothing was taken, but one room, my friend's, got tossed up pretty badly," Josh replied, ignoring Blake's question. "Address? Eleven-twenty-five Devonshire Avenue. Ten minutes? Works for me." Josh said before muting the call. He turned off the display and shoved the device back into his pocket. He turned back to face Blake. "Sorry about that. I'm just really freaked right now." Blake nodded sympathetically.

"Understandable," Blake replied. Josh made his way back to the concrete steps and sat down on the lowest one. Blake followed and sat next to him. Josh put his head in his paws and sighed.

"You can go your entire life thinking 'oh, this'll never happen to me.' then it happens to you," Josh said solemnly. All Blake could do was nod. The two sat in silence for a few minutes taking in the events that had just come to pass.

"Hey, Josh, did the room that get ransacked happen to be Ryder's?" Blake asked, breaking the silence. Josh glanced up, astonished.

"Yeah... how'd you know?" he asked.

"I was told by his friends at school that he's been gone a couple days. I wanted to talk to him, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn't missing, like they thought he was. Of course, I hadn't expected there to be a break and enter and possible burglary," Blake refrained from telling Josh the real reason he came to visit, as he was sure he wouldn't understand and would ask a lot of questions he didn't want to answer. Josh didn't respond. Another two minutes passed and silence blanketed them once again. "Is it okay if I go in and have a look around?" Blake asked. Josh glanced up from the ground.

"Well, the cops are coming, so I wouldn't go in there," Josh replied. Blake rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on, please? I'm pretty much a cop right now, I'm on a co-op program at the BMP," Josh's eyes narrowed as he considered Blake's answer. Eventually, Josh agreed to let Blake into the house. "Thanks a million, dude," said Blake, pushing open the door. He was content with himself, as he had just gotten himself permission to essentially snoop around Ryder's room.

He only had minutes, but he was going to make the most of the time he had received. He sprinted up the stairs two at a time and ran down the hallway. Just like the front door, it had been forced open, leaving splinters of wood on the ground below it. He carefully stepped over the splinters to reveal the extent of the damage. Papers were strewn all over the floor, and random objects were thrown from their original places to join the paper. All the drawers in the room, the ones on Ryder's desk as well as the ones in his dresser, were all pulled open and contents all mixed up. Whomever was in here was looking for something, and they must've wanted it badly enough to absolutely decimate the once neat and tidy space.

Perhaps the most perplexing thing about the mess was that the mattress from Ryder's bed was flipped completely off of it's box spring. Blake turned his attention to the other side of the room. There, the closet doors have been pried off of their hinges and tossed aside, and the contents inside were spilling out into the room. Blake carefully stepped over some stray pieces of glass and glanced into the closet. The space was filled with mundane items, such as clothes, boxes, and bags. Among them, in the centre of the cluttered ground, sat an open briefcase.

The briefcase caught Blake's attention and he picked it up. Blake stepped over to the desk and swept a pile of papers off the surface, watching as they scattered and floated down toward the floor, adding to the mess. Blake then bent lower, searching for the stool that he knew was still in there. Blake found it under the mattress. He flipped it upright and took a seat as he began examining the briefcase.

The briefcase had a gloss black finish, and looked rather ordinary. He closed the lid halfway, revealing that the briefcase had a three-digit locking mechanism on it. The number that the small dials were set to was '473.' Blake made a mental note of the number. The outside had nothing of importance to offer, so Blake turned his attention to the inside. The inside of the case was just as barren as the outside, save for some hard-to-read writing stamped into the bottom portion of the case. Blake squinted hard as he attempted to read the tiny black print. He tilted it so that the light would make it easier to read.

 **H &H ARMS CO.**

 _H &H Arms Co. _Blake repeated. Just as he was about to take another look, Josh had pushed the door to the room open. He was accompanied by a police officer, whom seemed surprised to see someone occupying a crime scene.

"That's Blake, he arrived as I was calling you," Josh said. The officer nodded and stepped into the room. Blake hopped off the stool and was ushered out of the room by the unnamed officer. Josh and Blake both decided that it would be best to allow the officer to conduct an investigation, and walked down the hallway toward the stairs. They stopped in front of the front door and Josh turned to face Blake. "Find anything?" he asked. Blake nodded.

"Yeah. For whatever reason, Ryder was keeping a briefcase hidden in his closet. I looked over the case, and found the print 'H&H Arms Co. stamped into the bottom, leading me to believe he was hiding a firearm," Blake said. Josh's eyes widened.

"Really? Ryder? Firearm? No way. He just doesn't seem like a gun mammal to me," Josh added.

"Well, be that as it may, he was still in possession of a firearm. No doubt about that." The two of them exited the house and walked down the concrete path down to Blake's car. "Look, I'm really sorry this happened to you," Blake said. Josh shook his head.

"Not your fault, besides, nothing you could have done to stop it. What happened, happened, and we just gotta accept that," Josh replied. Blake walked around to the drivers side of the vehicle and got in. He started the engine and rolled down the passenger side window; he still had one last thing to tell Josh.

"Josh, it's been two days since Ryder disappeared, right?" he asked. Josh nodded solemnly. "Okay. I think you should go down to the police station once this officer leaves and file a missing mammals report,"

"Yeah... I suppose that's the right thing to do. I think I'll do that," said the ferret. Blake stepped on the gas pedal and waved as he pulled away from the house. Now that he was alone, he could think. He turned the radio off and concentrated on the road.

 _Ryder goes missing for two days. During that time, his house is broken into, and something, presumably a firearm, is stolen from a case hidden in his closet. There's no way these aren't related. There's just no way. Ryder was keeping something that someone else wanted hidden, and they finally took matters into their own paws. They needed him out of the way, so it's a possibility that Ryder was kidnapped, or worse..._

Blake shook his head.

 _No, Ryder wasn't murdered. I don't think they'd go that far. Regardless, questions remain. Is Ryder actually missing? If so, was he kidnapped? If not, where is he? What kind of firearm was in that case? And why would someone go as far as to break into his home and steal it? Why does Ryder even own a firearm? He lives in the safest neighbourhood in the city, and he doesn't seem like a gun enthusiast._

Blake groaned. The questions he was asking himself were giving him a headache. He massaged his temple and continued driving. He decided that he would continue thinking about Ryder and the events surrounding him after a nice hot shower and bundling himself up in multiple blankets. Blake activated his turn signal and took the exit that would lead him back to campus.

* * *

 _Hooray! School's out, meaning updates will become more frequent once again. I started writing this chapter as soon as my last exam finished to celebrate. -Prince_


	14. Chapter 14 - I'm Sorry

Blake's evening was filled with pacing, talking to himself out loud, and possibly the most painful headache he's experienced in a long while. He turned in early that night in hopes that he would feel better in the morning, however sleep never came. Blake simply lay awake under the covers, staring at the ceiling. He thought about what Ryder could have done to warrant getting himself kidnapped, and who the kidnappers were. In addition, that was only if he had gotten kidnapped. What if he'd run off on his own? More questions buzzed around in Blake's mind, causing sleep to drift further and further away from that night's activities.

A few more hours of this and Blake began to hear the morning songbirds chirping away in the small wood that surrounded the residence buildings. Another hour, and sunlight began peering into his dorm room. Finally, after another hour, the little ray of sunlight had managed to creep up the foot of the bed and shine directly into Blake's eyes. Blake growled.

"Fuck it!" he shouted, tearing the covers from on top of him and climbing out of bed. Blake paced around his room, mostly to calm himself down, but also to wake himself up. He eventually stopped pacing and walked into the kitchen. He took a small glass from one of the cupboards and filled it with water. After emptying the glass, he made his way to the washroom and brushed his teeth; he was much too tired to shower. Blake exited the washroom, and began digging around in his wardrobe in search of an outfit. Pickings were slim, as he hadn't done the laundry in almost a week. All dressed, Blake reached for his phone, which was on the kitchen table. To his dismay, it was dead.

 _I need a new phone._ He thought. _I'm due for an upgrade, and the battery can't even hold a charge for one day on standby._

Blake brought the phone over to his nightstand and plugged it in. He glanced at his alarm clock; the time was eight-thirty. He grabbed the nearest sweatshirt and put it on. Blake stepped out of his dorm and locked the door behind him. He left the building and immediately felt a chilly north wind blow right through his sweatshirt. Although it didn't bother Blake too much, he noticed other mammals who had morning lectures shiver as they walked past. Blake began walking one of the school's concrete trails, this one in particular being the longest. He put his paws in his pockets and inhaled the brisk April morning air. Blake sighed.

The trail was surrounded by young coniferous trees and small shrubs beginning to wake up from their winter slumber. The icy wind tugged at Blake's clothing and the trees blew back and forth in its breeze. Blake continued walking the trail until he caught eye of a figure laying in the frosty grass just ahead of him. Through the drowsiness, Blake squinted to get a better look, but to no avail.

He approached the patch to see a small hare lying on her back, seemingly watching the clouds pass. Blake raised an eyebrow. The hare didn't notice Blake's arrival and continued staring at the sky. Blake watched for a few more seconds as she lay motionless on the frosty grass. Finally, Blake decided to interrupt.

"What are you doing lying on the grass at this hour?" Blake asked the hare.

The hare turned her head to look at her disruptor. She narrowed her eyes before rolling onto her stomach. She scanned Blake from head to toe before returning to a neutral gaze. The hare's lack of reaction confused Blake greatly. The hare sat upright and stared Blake in the eyes.

"Am I not allowed to lay in the grass this early in the morning?" she asked slyly. Blake grew even more confused.

"No one said that, I'm just asking is all," Blake replied. The hare smiled and patted the grass next to her, offering Blake a seat. Blake glanced in both directions to make sure that nobody was watching. After hesitating slightly, Blake took the seat next to the hare. As soon as he sat down, the hare flopped back onto her back, catching Blake by surprise. Blake rolled his eyes as he did the same. The two lay in silence for a few minutes, watching the clouds pass and the treetops sway.

"What brings you out here at this time?" asked the hare. Blake glanced in her direction. She hadn't looked away from the sky. Blake returned his gaze to the clouds above.

"Just doing some thinking. Also kind of hoped the cool air would remedy my headache," Blake replied. The hare shifted a little in her spot before rolling over to meet Blake's eyes.

"I was doing some thinking myself before you came along. I'm still thinking right now, in fact. I'm thinking about asking you what your name is," said the hare. It took a few moments, but Blake realized that the hare had just asked him his name.

"Oh, my name's Blake," he replied. The hare beamed at him.

"My name's Ryah," she replied. Blake nodded and fell into thought, he couldn't help feeling he's heard that name somewhere before...

"Ryah...oh! I think we've met before." Blake exclaimed. Ryah jumped at Blake's outburst.

"Really? Where?"

"It was really brief, but we exchanged greetings. It was when I came to visit Ryder, he and you were talking over voice chat," Blake said. It took a bit to register with Ryah, but eventually recalled their very short conversation.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I didn't recognize your voice, the call was a bit laggy," she said. Blake nodded and said nothing. "Hey, wanna keep walking with me?" she asked suddenly. Her question caught Blake off guard.

"Sure, I guess we could do that. Better than sitting in cold, wet-ish grass, right?" Blake replied. Ryah chuckled.

"You bet." The two mammals stood up and began walking away from the now damp patch of grass they were sitting in. The two walked a few minutes down the trail, taking in the sights and sounds. They occasionally glanced at each other but would quickly look away, making things unnecessarily awkward between them.

"Have you been hearing from Ryder lately? I haven't seen him around, and he hasn't been returning my calls," she asked. Her voice sounded gloomier than when she was talking to him earlier. Blake raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to answer her, but hesitated.

 _Doesn't she know? If she and Ryder are such good friends, surely she'd know about his disappearance, right?_ He thought. _Then again, the report was only made yesterday, so it might not've had time to circulate._

"I haven't seen or heard from him either, but I do know why," Blake replied quietly. Ryah's expression fell.

"Oh no, what happened?" she said, sounding genuinely concerned. Her tone made Blake feel even worse. He desperately wished he could change the subject to something cheerier, but he wasn't able to do that. He had to be the one to break the new that one of her best friends had disappeared. Blake inhaled sharply and stopped walking. Ryah stopped walking as well and turned to face Blake.

"Ryah... Ryder's gone missing," Blake said slowly. Ryah gasped.

"What? No. No, no no. How?" Ryah stammered. The question echoed in his head. He really wanted to answer her, but even he didn't have the answer.

"I don't know, but his roommate said that he left in a hurry one afternoon and never came home," Blake replied. Ryah was devastated. She seemed to be on the verge of crying, but she was managing to hold strong. "I'm sure the police are doing all they can to find him," he added.

Out of the blue, Ryah walked forward and threw her arms around Blake's waist. Blake was surprised by this action, but since Ryah was clearly grieving, he didn't resist. Blake returned the gesture and even rubbed Ryah's back in a comforting way. Blake could feel the doe shaking as she sobbed into his sweatshirt. Blake continued rubbing her back, unsure of what to do next.

The two stood there, in the middle of the trail, for about ten minutes as Ryah calmed herself down. After she'd stopped crying, Blake could feel some of the negative emotions being transferred from her to him. He was in a bad mood when he got out of bed, but that was nothing compared to the uncut sadness that loomed over him after the experience he had just been through.

He and Ryah finished the loop, both chatting about other things, purposefully avoiding anything relating back to Ryder. When they got back to where they started, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. Despite having a decent conversation with her after the whole Ryder thing, he couldn't shake what he'd said out of his mind, or rather, what he hadn't said.

 _I couldn't have told her what happened to him. We don't even know if he actually was kidnapped. It's better off that she doesn't know. I mean hey, what you don't know can't hurt you, right? God, I'm such a prick._

Though he regretted not telling her the whole truth, what's done was done. Blake returned to his dorm building. He glanced at the clock on the wall as he entered, it was nearing eleven o'clock. Blake walked down the hall to his dorm room and entered. Right away, he walked over to his nightstand to check his phone. He had received a text message from Chief Maxwell.

 _Where are you? Are you okay?_

"Shit," Blake said aloud. Blake scooped the device from the tabletop to reply.

 _Yeah, Just had a bad night is all._

Blake stood and waited for a response. After a minute, the device vibrated in Blake's paw. He glanced down to see what the Chief had written.

 _No one likes a bad night. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. It may be late in the morning, but come in anyway, Nick and Judy are worried about you as well. Besides, I want to talk with you about something._

Blake raised an eyebrow. He wondered what the Chief wanted to speak with him about. He pocketed the device and grabbed some other belongings, namely his keys, and headed out the door.

The drive to the station was delayed by the lunchtime traffic; he arrived fifteen minutes later than he should have. Blake parked in what seemed to be turning into his usual spot and began walking toward the station. As he entered, he waved to the secretary, but as she was busy with work, she didn't wave back. Blake navigated the hallway to the Chief's office. He knocked twice.

"Enter," said a voice inside. Blake opened the door and was greeted by the familiar faces of Nick, Judy, and Chief Maxwell. Blake took a seat in the empty chair across from the desk. All eyes were on him.

"You okay, Snowflake?" asked Nick, leaning forward in his chair. Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Blake replied.

"Well, not to be rude or anything, but you do look like you were hit by a bus." Blake remembered that he hadn't showered that morning, and that he probably looked quite bad. Blake smiled.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I didn't sleep at all last night.' Blake finally said. Nick chuckled.

"Yep, sleepless nights will leave you looking like that." As the conversation ended, everyone turned to the Chief, who was sitting quietly in his chair.

"Right. Nick and Judy, I've already given you this afternoon's task. You may leave," said Maxwell. In tandem, Nick and Judy rose from their seats and left the office. Maxwell and Blake were the only ones left in the room. Blake wore a puzzled look and turned back to the Chief as the door closed.

"Why aren't I going with them?" Blake asked. Maxwell leaned in closer.

"I'd like to talk to you about something that came in recently. I'm sure you could provide some insight." Blake grew even more confused. Maxwell turned his monitor so that Blake could see. On the display, a missing mammals report. The picture was of a beaver wearing a black v-neck and a familiar pair of circular glasses. The name beside the picture read 'Ryder Robichaud.'

"He's missing," Blake said.

"That's right. He's the one you're so keen on keeping an eye on. I don't know why, but after this, I hope you'll be able to tell my why. There's something about this beaver that's caught your attention, and I want to know what. How about this. You tell me the story from the beginning, starting to when he first caught your attention. Please, do not omit any thoughts that you've had," said the Chief. Blake sat in his chair, silent, staring into Maxwell's eyes

"Why?" Blake asked quietly. Maxwell leaned back.

"I know you think there's something going on with him. I want you to tell me what you're thinking."

* * *

 _Apologies for the short chapter. been working on some other projects at the moment. Next one should be back to normal length -Prince_


	15. Chapter 15 - Suspect

Blake shifted in his seat as Maxwell watched him. He avoided staring directly into his eyes until he was sure he had something coherent to say to him. Instead, he turned his attention to the window to his right. He stared down at the street that wasn't too far down. A few silence-filled minutes passed before Blake realized what he was doing. He quickly snapped back to the Chief who was still watching him.

"Take as much time as you need," he said simply. Blake nodded and began thinking harder. He attempted to recall the first time Ryder was mentioned between him, Maxwell, Nick, and Judy.

"This might take a bit, I want to make sure that nothing is left out," Blake said finally.

"The more detailed your recount, the better," he replied. Blake returned to staring out the window as he carefully scoured through the past few weeks events. As Blake sat silently in his seat, Maxwell returned to computer; there was still work to be done, and he figured that doing some of it now would be more beneficial to him since he wasn't doing anything else besides waiting for Blake.

Ten, then fifteen, then twenty minutes passed. The two sat in silence, each doing their own thing. Maxwell was working on a few reports and Blake continued to think. After thirty minutes, Blake turned his attention away from the window to his right. The movement caused Maxwell to look away from his computer screen. Blake was sitting calm and collected in the chair across from him, an indicator that he was ready to tell his story. Maxwell turned his monitor off out of courtesy to ensure no distractions for the either of them. Blake stared into the moose's eyes, waiting for him to give him the go ahead.

"Whenever you're ready," Maxwell said softly. Blake nodded once and took a slow breath in.

"Alright. So Ryder's name comes up for the first time after Nick and Judy's visit to the hospital with Jay. I remember either Nick or Judy asking me if I knew Ryder, since Jay told them that Ryder was his boyfriend's lab partner. For the record, I did know Ryder before the whole situation, we were just one terrible terms. Reluctantly I accept their request and agree to talk to him, since we wanted to know what was going on in that lab of theirs. We were told that Ryder, along with Brett were working with Night Howlers, which is why we wanted to get into contact with him, correct? Since Jay knew nothing and Brett was incapacitated at the time?" Blake began.

Maxwell, despite being relayed information he already knew, still looked interested in what Blake was telling him.

"That's right, continue," replied Maxwell

"Okay. From being told to talk to him, I end up going to a party he threw. I encounter a friend of his named Josh. He's not important right now, but he'll become a crucial bit of the whole thing a bit later. After meeting Josh, he directs me to Ryder. I go up to Ryder's room, where he was reluctant to let me in. Lucky for me, the door was unlocked and I enter his room. I talk to him, ask what he's doing in the lab. Of course he wouldn't speak, but I did walk away with something else. He told me where the school gets their supply of the Night Howler plant."

Maxwell was becoming more interested with each sentence of Blake's recount. During Blake's second paragraph, he had leaned back in his chair and began chewing on the end of a stray pen. Maxwell nodded as Blake finished his sentence.

"Okay, so from here, you've met Ryder, you know kind of what he's doing, and you've confirmed that he works with the plants. Where's this going?" Maxwell asked. Blake put his paws up in defence.

"Yes, and I thought nothing of it until after the second attack at the ice rink. A few days afterwards, I was on my way back from the college's library when heard someone talking in the Science Wing's delivery bay. I couldn't get a good at them but I managed to pick up a bit of hushed conversation. I assume whomever was talking was talking on the phone with someone. I remember hearing about something about 'it being finished,' and that it was 'in the lab.' I waited until the mammal had entered the wing, but I wasn't fast enough to catch the door and was locked out. This means whomever entered the building had a key. I cut my losses and went back to my dorm, but not without a few thoughts. Until that point, I was most obsessed with the meeting at the botanical garden. This is where some personal thoughts come in. I suspect it was Ryder who entered the building, and I'll tell you why near the end," Blake said.

Blake waited for Maxwell to show that he was still following Blake's retelling of events. Maxwell nodded once, deep in thought. Blake watched as Maxwell processed his latest addition.

"Interesting," was all Maxwell said.

"So after this, I set out to talk to his friends. First to ask where they were that night, because it could have been one of them, and second to ask if they've seen Ryder. After talking to them, none of them were in the Science Wing, and I was told that Ryder was working in his lab. I set off toward the labs in search of him and I was lucky enough to run into him as he was leaving. I confronted him, asking where he was, and I quickly found out he was less cooperative with me than his friends were. He and I got into a huge argument ending with him telling me he was at home reviewing notes. He storms off leaving me with an answer I'm satisfied with." Blake glanced up at Maxwell to make sure he was listening. Blake continued.

"Once I exited the building, I end up bumping into Josh. Remember him? You're in for a real shocker, because this is where things begin their downward spiral. Josh and I exchange greetings and I tell him what I was up to. After I told him what Ryder told me, he told me the opposite to what Ryder told me. He told me that Ryder was out at that time. I pretended as if it wasn't a big deal in front of him so I wouldn't get any questions. At this point, I am sure that Ryder was the one who entered the building the night before,"

"Well how can you be sure?" Maxwell interrupted. Blake crossed his arms.

"Well, what he told me and what his roommate told me don't match up, for one. Also, since he has his own lab, he must have keys to the Wing," Blake replied. Maxwell nodded and went silent.

"Anyway, we now jump to after the meeting at the botanical garden. We find out that the only buyer in the whole town for the Night Howler plant is the college. This might seem a bit out of place, but allow me to explain. In order to make Night Howler serum, you obviously need the plant. With the restrictions on it, it's impossible to get it through any other means than from a licensed seller. To get a license, you need a valid reason for using the plant. I was told this by Ryder when I first confronted him. In that very same conversation he told me that some of the plants were going missing. I enquired about it but he quickly responded with a bit about his professor working on the project as well as him. I suspect the bit about the plants going missing was a slip," Blake said.

"You've taken quite a sharp turn in your narrative, Blake," Maxwell pointed out. Blake lifted a finger.

"You did tell me to include my thoughts, no?" Blake replied. Maxwell nodded and fell silent.

"Anyway, the reason I suspect this was a slip was because I think Ryder was the one taking the plants. I mean, I highly doubt the professor takes them, and there was no way for Brett to do it since he was in the hospital. After this revelation, I want to confront him with my new found evidence. However, things seemed to have gone awry. When I arrived at Ryder's townhouse, Josh was on the porch on the phone. When I approached him, I learned that the house was broken into and he was on the phone with the police. I also learned that Ryder hasn't been seen for over two days,"

"I remember hearing about that burglary," Maxwell added. Blake nodded.

"Right. Josh lets me in to have a look around, and surprise surprise, Ryder's room is the only one that's been ransacked. I end up searching the room and I find an empty firearm case in the back of his closet. Remember the whole Science Wing thing from earlier. I'm even more confident that it was Ryder who went in there, and whatever was in the firearm case is what was 'finished' and is what he went in there for. Now here's where things get crazy. With Ryder being the cause of those missing plants, and with Ryder concealing a firearm in his lab and his house, a firearm in which he could have built himself, I suspect Ryder is the one who committed the attacks." Maxwell furrowed his brow.

"That's a bold statement to make, Blake," Maxwell said. Blake nodded.

"I know, but just think about it for a second. Who else could have stolen the plants to make the serum? Only three mammals have access to that room, and Ryder could have easily stolen the key to the plant's containment vessel from the professor. What other reason would Ryder have to lie about his whereabouts. What other reason would Ryder have for owning a firearm case but to store the weapon he's created to fire serum pellets?"

All the questions Blake pelted Maxwell with were reasonable to boot. Maxwell pondered, making sure what Blake was telling him fit.

"I suppose it does make sense, but we can't just convict one mammal for organizing two large scale terrorist attacks on the city out of the blue, we don't even know where he is," Maxwell said.

"Right. I think Ryder knew I was onto him and went into hiding," Blake added. Maxwell nodded.

"That's very likely. We need to make sure he's found so we can have him questioned," Maxwell concluded.

Maxwell reached for the phone on his desk and picked up the receiver. He typed in some numbers on the keypad and waited for someone to pick up on the other end. Once that mammal did pick up, Maxwell began talking immediately. "We need to make sure that a Ryder Robichaud is found as quickly as possible and brought in for questioning in relation to the two Night Howler attacks. Have posters printed with the HQ's contact information as well as a photo of Ryder and directions to call the HQ if they've seen him or know anything on his whereabouts." Maxwell hung up the phone and turned to Blake.

"So..." Blake began.

"Thank you for sharing, Blake. I knew you had thoughts about Ryder, but I never knew that you were piecing things together in your head in such a detailed manner." Blake beamed.

"Thank you, sir," Blake replied. Maxwell rose from his seat and made his way over to the door. Blake turned and watched as he opened it.

"You may leave if you wish. I've just given myself a bunch of extra things to do around here and I'm pretty sure you don't want to be bored out of your mind," Maxwell said. Blake rose from his seat and walked to the door, stopping before walking through it.

"Can't I help?" Blake asked. Maxwell chuckled.

"That won't be necessary, you've done plenty today. I'll notify Nick and Judy of our discussion when they return at the end of the day." Maxwell motioned for Blake to leave. Blake began walking down the hallway. Before he rounded the corner, he turned to wave goodbye to Maxwell. He made his way out onto the street and began walking to his car. He unlocked it with a push of a button from his remote starter and entered the driver door. He started the car and began driving back to his dorm. He began to feel the effects of speaking and thinking so much; he had developed a mild headache and he was dying for a glass of water. Blake sighed as he turned off of the street the HQ was situated on, staring at the building in the rear-view mirror.

* * *

Maxwell contacted Blake the next morning. He sent a text message saying that what he had told Maxwell, Maxwell had relayed back to Nick and Judy. Later in the same day, Nick and Judy contacted Blake through a video call stating that they're willing to help with Blake's investigation. Blake thanked them for their willingness to help, and that he has a few other assignments to catch up on.

"Give me a couple days, it's all short stuff so I should be able to get it done," said Blake. The fox and rabbit duo nodded together .

"Good. So we'll see you on Friday?" Nick asked.

"Yes, I'll see you again on Friday," Blake replied before ending the call. In truth, Blake did have a small stack of things to do for other courses, but he did lie about the amount of time it would take for him to complete everything. The extra time he had gotten himself would be used to search for his suspect. Blake leaned back in his chair and opened up a blank text document. In addition, he opened up a window for doing research, and a second window for multiple social media tabs.

Blake wasn't one to normally browse through walls of his friends posts, but this time he wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it to search for traces of activity coming from any of the accounts that belonged to Ryder. He would flip-flop back and forth between conducting research for his paper and checking all sorts of social media sites. He would search for accounts with Ryder's name and if something came up, he would scroll through the account's time line.

As he continued his little investigation, he began to notice a trend. He did encounter some fake accounts, and he was able to tell because the ones that actually belonged to Ryder had seen no posting activity, or any activity for that matter, since the night he vanished. After nearly eight gruelling hours of doing schoolwork as well as searching for a mammal that has seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth, Blake decided to call it a night and head to bed.

Wednesday transitioned into Thursday; the final day of his short break. Blake decided to use this day to fetch some groceries; he was running low on food. The closest grocery store was within walking distance, but since he needed to buy enough food to last him a couple weeks, he decided on taking his car. He drove the short distance from the campus to the store and walked across the parking lot after he left the vehicle.

The time spent traversing the aisles grabbing things he would need ate up about thirty minutes. He hauled his cart to the checkout lines and waited as the mammal in front of him unloaded her pile of groceries onto the belt to be scanned and bagged. Blake sighed and rolled his eyes. He glanced down the row of checkout counters, seeing that the one he was in had the shortest line. He concluded that it wouldn't be worth it to switch lines now, especially since someone had just parked their cart right behind him, trapping him in the line.

Blake ended up waiting another fifteen minutes for the mammal in front of him to finish paying for her goods, and another five for his, adding up to nearly an hour of time spent in the grocery store. As Blake pushed his now paid for groceries toward the exit, he caught notice of the community bulletin board that was always filled with different advertisements and mammals selling their unwanted belongings. As he drew nearer, he saw a poster plastered in the center of the board. The poster was the exact same poster that Maxwell had described on the phone, complete with a photo, Ryder's name, and the HQ's contact information.

Blake walked past the poster with a small sense of satisfaction. He was glad that he was making an impact on such a high profile case. Blake exited the store and pushed his car all the way to his car at the back of the lot. He unloaded each bag one by one into the back of the car before placing his cart in the return and getting into the driver's seat. Blake pulled out of the lot and onto a main road. On the way back, he saw another poster of Ryder on the side of a building, and another in the front window of a department store.

 _The word is definitely getting out there._ Blake thought. _He'll be found in no time._

* * *

Whatever sunlight peered through the slightly drawn shades of the room was quickly stopped by the thick clouds of cigarette smoke that hung low in the room. In the darkened room sat a small mammal at a desk entirely too large for him. The mammal took a drag from the cigarette in his paw. He exhaled slowly as he stared down at the desk in front of him. The room was quiet, save for the small movements of the chair the mammal was sitting in and the tapping of the mammal's claws on the wooden surface of the desk.

The mammal placed the cigarette butt in the nearby ashtray and hopped off of the oversized chair. He began pacing back and forth in front of the window, staring down at the city below. He shifted his focus to the corner of the room that seemed darker than the rest. Silence. The mammal continued pacing across the office, arms behind his back and continued to stare at the floor. After a few more minutes of pacing the mammal glanced into the darkened corner once more. This time he was greeted with the creaking of the hardwood floor and a pair of eyes. The mammal furrowed his brows.

The mammal returned to his desk, leaning on it from the front instead of returning to his seat behind it. He stared back at the pair of eyes and sighed. The pair of eyes stared at the mammal as if to plead him to say something. The mammal pulled a carton of cigarettes and a lighter from the breast pocket of his blazer. He removed a cigarette and lit it before returning both the carton and the lighter to his pocket. He took a drag before returning to the figure sitting in the shadows.

"You were warned of the consequences, and now you must serve them," said the mammal.

"He was on to me, sir. It was just too risky to carry it out."

"The attack was set to happen on that day. The attack did not happen. I don't care how risky it was. You were given an order and you failed to execute it." The mammal turned and began walking back to the window.

The mammal listened as the floor creaked. He listened as the mammal in the corner struggled to get up. He turned back around when the creaking lasted longer than he had expected it to. From the shadows emerged a mammal whose clothes were torn, and whose fur was matted in places where he was cut and blood had dried. Despite how beaten and battered the body was, the eyes remained as alive as ever. The mammal stopped as he felt the collar placed around his neck begin to tug at the front of his neck; he had exhausted the slack of the rope that had him tied to a loop hammered into the wall.

"If you could please be so generous as to give me a second chance, I will be sure that the attack happens." The mammal raised a paw almost to silence the other.

"I do not give second chances, Mr. Robichaud. You have proven yourself untrustworthy and unreliable, and therefore useless to our cause," replied the mammal bitterly.

"Well you can't just keep me tied up in here. Mammals know I'm missing!" Ryder yelled. Almost as soon as he raised his voice, the collar around his neck had given him a short shock, causing him to cry out in pain. The small LED embedded in the collar had changed from red to yellow as Ryder collapsed back onto the hardwood floor.

"You do not talk back to me, and you will stay here as long as I wish you to," said the mammal. Ryder stared up at the mammal, angry. A few moments afterwards, another figure entered the room.

"The police have caught onto Ryder's disappearance and have posted posters all throughout the city," said a female voice. The mammal growled.

"I knew Blake would catch on. I told you. I told you he was onto me," said Ryder quietly. Both mammals turned to look at Ryder, who was still lying on the ground.

"You shut it," said the mammal. The mammal turned to the female in the doorway. "Get as much information on this 'Blake' character that you can. If he's the one who's slowing us down, then it is he who should suffer. Once you find out who Blake is, make sure to hit them where it hurts," said the mammal maliciously.

"Yes, sir," replied the female voice before closing the door. The mammal walked slowly back to his desk, Ryder watching his every step. He returned to his oversized chair and stared at the desk in front of him.

"There will be no more hiccups once this thorn in our side is dealt with," said the mammal quietly.


	16. Chapter 16 - Fracture

The coming weeks offered very little for Blake in terms of police work. Aside from the occasional update text from Maxwell or a visit from Nick and Judy, it was complete radio silence from both parties. Although Blake wasn't being updated directly, Blake still stalked the Met Police website for any update on the whereabouts of the missing beaver, Ryder Robichaud. After he checked the website, Blake would work on other tasks when required, or participated in a myriad of other activities, including sitting in front of the computer, spending time with Stephen and his friends, or just going on walks around the campus to clear his mind.

When he went on those walks, he secretly hoped he would run into the arctic hare again, to have even a miniscule change in the rut that his life had become. Every time he rounded the corner into the grass clearing where he had met her the first time he looked over the crest of the hill, hoping to catch a glimpse of the hare's white fur. When she wasn't there, he would sigh and continue on his walk.

April bled into May, and still nothing from the Headquarters. As the weather warmed, it brought a feeling of urgency over the campus that lay as heavy as the humidity in the air; exam season was coming fast. Blake had shifted his focus from the Robichaud case to studying for the upcoming tests.

The date was Wednesday, May second, exactly three weeks since he had set foot in the HQ. At this point, Exams were a mere month away, and Blake, along with Stephen and a few of his pals were working on the last assignments from their respective classes. Blake, Stephen, a wolf named Collin, and a brown hare named Jackie were all sitting together at a table in the campus library.

Blake stared down at the laptop screen in front of him. It had been a while since Blake had used the machine. The last time he could remember using it was the day that Dez destroyed it, but now that it was repaired, the machine worked as if it had never been broken. Aside from a few scratches and scuffs on the chassis, the machine was in near mint condition. Blake typed away at a document while listening to a hushed conversation between Stephen and Collin.

"My phone is better than yours, Collin," Stephen whispered, waving his device in front of Collin's face. Collin sighed and rolled his eyes. He reached into his backpack for his smartphone.

"For the last time, Steph, not they're not. That brand is a fashion statement and nothing more. The only reason to own one is because of the brand's prestige," replied Collin, also in a hushed voice. Collin flashed his device.

Blake had abandoned his eavesdropping as soon as he learned the subject matter. He never liked pitting two different things against each other, especially when it came to tech products. He would always wonder why mammals would take two similar things and start a war over them. Why couldn't the two coexist peacefully without competition?

Blake felt his pocket vibrate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. On the screen, a notification from someone who he hadn't had contact with for a little while now; his mother. Blake unlocked the device and read the message his mother had sent him.

 _Hi, Blake. Since your semester is nearly over, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with your father and I._

Blake read the message over once more before putting the device to sleep and placing it face down on the wooden tabletop. He glanced over the lid of his laptop at the three others accompanying him at the table. Collin and Stephen were still engaged in their mini phone war, and Jackie was peacefully writing in her notebook. Blake looked back down toward the screen of his computer at the little clock in the bottom right. Four-thirty. Blake picked up his smartphone once more and scrolled through his contacts. He stopped scrolling once he saw the contact titled 'Judy Hopps/Nick Wilde.' He opened the chat window and began typing out a message.

 _You wanna meet my parents? I figured they'd like to meet you._

Blake typed. He hit send and set the device down in his lap. Within minutes, Blake received a response from the duo.

 _Sure, what time?_

Blake switched the chat window back to his mother's and began typing a new message.

 _I'd like that. What time should I be ready for and where are we going? Also, there might be a few extras joining me. I asked my tutors if they'd like to come._

Blake waited for his mother's response. It took a little longer than the response he had received from Judy, as his mother was never good with touch screens. Minutes later, Blake had received his answers.

 _Be ready for six. The more, the merrier. We're going to that place atop the hill. The one surrounded by the bush and overlooks the city._

Blake returned to Judy's chat window.

 _They want us to meet them at six. Be ready for five-thirty and I'll pick you up wherever you're staying._

Blake rested the phone on his lap again and began packing up his things, starting by closing the lid to his laptop. The others noticed what he was doing and all turned their heads to look at him. Collin and Stephen stopped bickering. Blake shoved the computer into its carrying case and began rolling up the AC adaptor.

"Hey, Blake, Where're you going?" asked Stephen as he pocketed his phone. Collin said nothing and also put away his device. Blake did up the snaps of the case and zipped up his backpack. He threw the backpack over his shoulder and pushed in his chair. He turned to the three.

"I'm going to have dinner with my parents. They figured they'd treat me for all the work I've been putting in this semester," Blake replied, matter-of-factly. Stephen nodded.

"Lucky you. I wish my parents would do that for me," Stephen said dejectedly. Blake shrugged and waved goodbye to the small group. Blake exited the library through Door Q and began walking toward the residences. The weather outside was bearable, but still a bit warmer than Blake preferred. Blake continued at a steady pace until he reached the Delivery Bay. Blake stopped and stared, remembering the events that happened what felt like so long ago. Blake shook his head of the memory and continued on his path.

About three quarters of the way there, Blake felt another vibration coming from his pocket. He pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen, attempting to read the little notification banner. Giving up, he tapped the banner and unlocked the phone, revealing that the notification was a text from Judy.

 _Is this dinner like a formal thing, or?_

Blake quickly typed out his response.

 _No, nothing like that. Just wear casual clothes._

Blake shoved the device back into his pocket and focused on the walk back to his dorm. He pulled open the door to the complex and immediately felt the cool air from the air conditioner flow over him. He walked down the hall until he arrived at the door to his room. He fished out a key from his other pocket and unlocked the door. Once inside, he tossed his laptop case as well as his backpack onto his bed. He checked the time on his phone, it was five o'clock.

 _That gives me enough time to shower and pick up a better outfit before I go pick up Nick and Judy._ He thought.

He glanced down at what he was wearing at that moment, a worn out v-neck shirt and a pair of sweatpants. After deciding that he would sort out his wardrobe after his shower, Blake departed for the washroom.

One shower later, Blake emerged from his washroom still a little damp and with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked to his dresser and began rummaging through the drawers. Every time he saw something that appealed to him, he would remove it from the drawer it was in and toss it onto the floor behind him. Once he was done digging, he sorted through the clothes he had selected. He had eventually decided on a white shirt paired with a red flannel, as well as a pair of blue denim jeans.

After putting his clothes on, he gathered a few things, namely his phone, wallet, and keys, and headed toward the door. On his way out the complex, he sent a text to Judy, telling her that he was read and was on his way to pick them up. When Blake reached his car, Judy replied with the name of the hotel they were staying at, and that they were ready to go as well. Blake backed out of his parking space and made for the streets.

Traffic was light that evening, allowing for Blake to navigate the Borealis streets with relative ease. Blake had stopped before he entered the Financial District to enter the name of the hotel into his phone`s map. The direction the GPS had lead him was in a direction he had never been, or at least one he seldom travelled. At last, he arrived at his destination. As he approached the lavish structure, he noticed that Nick and Judy were already standing outside waiting for him. He pulled the car to the curb and stopped in front of them.

They both wore casual clothes as per Blake`s request. The two opened the right side doors and got into their respective seats; Nick in front, and Judy in the rear. Before any of them said a word, Blake pulled away from the curb and started driving toward their second destination.

"Do you know where we're going?" Nick asked. Blake stifled a chuckle.

"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't be driving you," he replied. Nick thought about what he had just asked and began laughing quietly to himself.

"Good one. I meant the establishment," Nick added. Blake had known that's what Nick meant, but where's the rule telling him he couldn't have fun?

"It's a place called 'Ivan's.' It overlooks the city and it's sort of a tourist hotspot," Blake replied bitterly.

"Does that bother you? You sounded pretty annoyed the way you said that," Judy added from the back. Blake shook his head.

"No, it just never used to be as busy as it is now. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the business is thriving, but the only reason mammals even go is to take pictures of the sunset from where the building is situated. You see, ever since some hipster photographer noticed that the sun sets so perfectly over the Tower of Peace, mammals flock there to get their own version of the picture." Judy's eyes lit up.

"Ooh! Is that the one where it looks like the sun is skewered on the very top of it? That's one of Kai Goudie's best pictures!" Judy exclaimed. Blake glanced at her through the rear-view mirror.

"You know Kai Goudie personally?" Blake asked.

"No, but I love his work," Judy replied. Blake rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Well, if you ever meet this 'Kai' character, be sure to thank him for ruining my favourite restaurant."

The three remained silent as they left the city. They continued driving down the road until Blake found the exit he needed to take. A few minutes down this road led them to their destination, a quaint wooden structure overlooking Borealis. The building was surrounded by a wide variety of pine trees native to the area.

Blake pulled the car into the parking lot and parked in an open space. He got out of the vehicle and stared at the familiar neon sign containing the name of the restaurant. Blake began walking to the building when he heard his name being called from across the lot. He glanced in the direction of the noise and saw his parents walking toward him.

"Hey Mom, Dad," Blake said as the two parents approached their son. Blake's mother gave him a hug, while his father gave him a smile and a wave. Blake was released from the hug as Nick and Judy walked down from Blake's car. Before any words were exchanged, Nick and Blake's father shook paws.

"So, you two are Blake's teachers?" asked Blake's mother.

"You could say that. I'm Judy Hopps of the Zootopia Police Department," said Judy.

"Nick Wilde," Nick added.

"You're from Zootopia, are you? I'm Tracy, Blake's father," Tracy motioned toward Blake's mother, "and this is my wife, Sandra."

"It's good to finally meet you two. I honestly thought we'd never get the chance," said Nick.

"Shall we head inside?" asked Sandra, pointing toward the building. "We can talk more once we're seated."

Everyone nodded together and began making their way to the restaurant building. When they arrived at the door, Blake walked ahead of the group and held the door open for everyone. Just like Blake had suggested, the place was packed with mammals, presumably tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of the setting sun later in the evening. The five of them stood in the entryway as they waited to be seated. Moments later, and a hostess appeared from deeper inside the building.

"Hi, welcome to Ivan's, how many?" asked the hostess.

"Just the five of us," replied Tracy. The hostess smiled and gestured for the group to follow her. The hostess guided them around tables of mammals until they arrived at an empty table near one of the all glass walls. They each took their seats and began looking over their menus.

"So why don't you two tell us a little about yourselves? How long have you been on the force?" asked Tracy.

"Just over eight months. Judy's been on for the better part of nine, since she joined before me," Nick replied. Tracy nodded. He leaned back in his chair.

"And you're already detectives? You must be pretty damn good at your jobs, then." Nick smiled.

"You could say that." Judy placed her menu down on the table and gave Nick a distasteful glare.

"How modest of you," Judy said sarcastically.

As Nick, Judy, and his parents talked, Blake simply stayed silent and stared out the window and into the forest beyond. A server appeared to take their orders, snapping Blake out of his daze. The five of them placed their orders and Blake went back to staring. He was near certain that he could see the brush moving in a way just shy of natural, but he decided not to bring it up lest he present himself as paranoid. Blake's concentration was broken once more when he saw his server place his plate in front of him. He thanked the server and watched as he gave everyone else their food.

Nick, Judy, Tracy, and Sandra all began eating their meals as Blake picked up his fork. He lazily skewered a single yellow bean on the end of the fork and lifted it up to his face. He continued to absentmindedly stare out the window to his right as well as pick at his meal with the fork.

"Are you alright, Blake? You've barely eaten anything," Sandra asked, concerned. Blake nodded and put his fork down. He glanced around the table, noticing that everyone's plate was nearing empty while his teetered on half-full.

"Of course. Guess I'm just not hungry. You know me, Mom." Sandra sighed.

"I suppose. He never has eaten as much as he should," said Sandra, addressing the group.

"You say that, but look at him. He's easily got at least two inches over me. He might even be able to take me in a fight," added Tracy. Blake sighed. Blake returned to his plate. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bushes on the edge of the forest move. He quickly whipped his head toward the sight to get a better look.

"What are you looking at? What's grabbed your attention?" asked Tracy. Blake got as close as he could to the window without touching it.

"I swear I saw those bushes moving," Blake replied, sounding urgent.

"It was probably just the- Ouch!" Sandra exclaimed as she lifted a paw to the back of her neck.

"You alright, sweetheart?" asked Tracy as he stood up from his chair. Sandra continued to rub her neck.

"Yeah, I think something bit me," she replied. Tracy walked around his wife's chair toward the side where she was holding her neck.

"Lift your paw and let me have a look." Sandra removed her paw. "Oh yeah, whatever gotcha gotcha good." As Tracy stood back up straight, he reached up and slapped his neck as well. "I just got bit as well. Someone's been letting the mosquitoes in," he added. He lowered his paw to look at it. He raised an eyebrow, confused, as the liquid on his paw was not red like he suspected, but a deep blue, almost purple.

Sandra stood up from her chair just to stumble into her husbands arms. Tracy caught her, showing concern on his face. Sandra shook her head and regained balance. She smoothed out the wrinkles on her top.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Tracy asked again.

"Yeah, just a bit light-headed, is all," Sandra replied. The whole scene caused Nick and Judy to place their conversation on hold. Sandra as well as Tracy locked eyes with Blake. The impromptu staring contest between the three was making Blake feel uncomfortable. The longer he stared, the more lifeless their eyes became. Blake swallowed hard and attempted to look away.

"I think I should be the one asking you two if you're alright," Blake said nervously. Just as he finished his sentence, Sandra furrowed her brows and began growling just loud enough for Blake to hear. "Mom?" he said. Sandra suddenly leapt across the table toward Blake, claws and teeth bared. Blake reacted just as quickly and dove out of the way, sending Sandra careening into the table behind them. The occupants of the table were angry at first, but then realized the gravity of the situation. One of them began shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Savage! There's a Savage!" they shouted. Heads turned toward the source of the shouting, catching a glimpse of what had just happened. Sandra lay on the ground, momentarily incapacitated. Blake watched as the occupants of the restaurant began to shout and panic, all trying to make their way to the exit.

"Everyone calm down! You'll only endanger yourselves more by acting erratically!" shouted Judy. She and Nick left their seats to attend to the swarming crowds attempting to leave the building. Meanwhile, Tracy had ran up to his wife and was trying to get her to come to. As quickly as he started shaking her shoulders, he stopped. He slowly turned his head toward Blake, who was also lying on the ground. Tracy's glare pierced Blake like knives through cloth.

"You..." Tracy said softly, though barely audible from the shouts of other mammals. Blake frowned.

"Huh?" he replied shakily. He quickly stood up and stared down at his father, who was beginning to stand up as well.

"You... You did this to her!" shouted Tracy. Blake grew even more confused.

"What are you talking about?" Blake shouted. As he finished his sentence, Tracy lunged toward Blake. Tracy's swipe missed Blake by inches as he ducked to avoid it. He watched as his father attempted to pull his claws out of the drywall. From the corner of his eye, he saw his mother stirring on the floor. Tracy freed his paw from the wall and locked eyes with Blake once more, who was backing away slowly. As Blake backed away, Tracy moved forward. Blake continued walking back until he backed into a table. Tracy took this opportunity to swipe at Blake again, but Blake jumped out of the way.

Tracy continued trying to hit Blake. Blake worked tirelessly to block each uncoordinated swipe his father threw at him. Blake was quickly running out of stamina after nearly a minute. Due to Blake's slowing reaction time, Tracy was able to land a hit on Blake's face, simultaneously scratching him and knocking him backward. Blake covered the area where his father had scratched him and stumbled backward, tripping over a chair that had been knocked over. Blake fell hard onto his back, knocking the wind out of him.

Tracy pounced onto Blake, pinning him to the floor. Blake stared up at his father, unable to do anything at that moment. Tracy breathed heavily onto Blake, his glassy eyes like black holes. Tracy lunged forward, sinking his teeth into Blake's neck. Blake cried out in pain and kicked his father off of him. Blake stood up quickly and rubbed the part of his neck where his father had bit him. He lifted the paw in front of him and saw that his grey fur had turned near black. In front of him, his father slowly got up off the floor to face Blake. Tracy was growling loudly now, and was looking like he could kill. Blake new he had a decision to make.

 _I can't fight my dad, he's my dad._ He thought. Blake looked at his father, disgusted at what he saw. His bore his teeth, still dripping with the blood from his neck. Blake furrowed his brows. _But that's not my dad. That's a savage. A disgusting savage that must be taken care of._

Tracy lunged forward once more, but this time, Blake was ready for him. Blake jumped out of the way a the last possible second, causing Tracy to crash into one of the tables. Tracy recovered quickly and went in for another attack. When Tracy grew near enough, Blake leaned forward and threw a punch at Tracy. The punch landed square in Tracy's jaw, disorienting him. Realizing this was his chance, Blake threw more punches at Tracy's head. Blake was able to land five or six punches before Tracy tackled Blake to the ground.

The two wrestled on the ground, Tracy and Blake exchanging jabs at each other. Blake was able to pin Tracy to the ground only because he was slightly bigger than his father. Blake began wailing on the savage fox's head, neck and chest, effectively beating Tracy into submission. As he continued to strike, Blake felt tears welling up in his eyes. As soon as he was sure Tracy was unconscious, Blake stopped. Blake's chest heaved as he caught his breath. Blake stood up and stared down at the fox in front of him. He stared at the cuts and bruises on his face and neck, a reminder of what he'd just done. Blake pulled his arms into his chest.

He turned around and began walking back toward where their table once was. He glanced down at his still unconscious mother. He then turned his attention to his paws. His paws, both back and front, were covered in not only scratches, but large amounts of what he could only assume was blood. Whether it was his or his father's, he did not know. He looked up and scanned the floor of the building. He hadn't noticed that it was completely empty while he was fighting his father. Blake glanced down at his paws once more. For some reason, they had become too much to look at.

Blake collapsed onto his knees. He frantically looked around the dining room, searching for nothing in particular. He glanced once more at his unconscious father. He then looked over toward his mother, who remained unmoved. Blake's ears twitched as he heard sirens in the distance. The sights, the sounds, the feelings overwhelmed Blake. He felt the tears begin to flow. He heard steps coming from the front door. A familiar voice echoed through the dining room.

"The Chief, as well as the paramedics are on their way. I'll check around to see if anyone's injured," said Nick. Nick and Judy slowed their pace into the restaurant as they took in the sights. What they saw was a bunch of overturned tables, broken chairs, a couple of unconscious parents, and fox with blood on his paws. The two slowly approached Blake, who was shaking and staring at the ground.

"Whoa. Blake... did you..." Nick began before Judy gestured for him to shut it. Judy slowly approached Blake. It didn't take long for Nick to put two and two together: Blake had beaten his savage father into submission.

Blake didn't know what to say. The reality of what had just taken place was beginning to set in. Both his mother and his father had gone Savage and attempted to attack him. His mother had knocked herself out and he was forced to fight his father. Through his blurred vision, he saw Judy slowly approaching him. She knelt down in front of him and placed a paw on his shoulder. Blake choked back sobs as Judy stood there comforting him. Blake's sobs reverberated throughout the dining room, each one more heartbreaking than the last.

"Oh, Blake..." Judy said softly as she pulled Blake into a tight embrace. Blake placed his head on Judy's shoulder as she began to rub his back comfortingly. Nick stood with his arms crossed in front of him and stared at the ground solemnly.


	17. Chapter 17 - Wither

The air hung heavy in the dining room. As Blake's crying subsided, emergency personnel began filing in through the front door. Other officers secured the area and began searching for cause of the turning, and paramedics began tending to the wounded. Blake looked up in time to see his parents being hauled away on stretchers. The sight made him want to start crying again, but for some reason, he just couldn't cry anymore.

From his other side, he was able to recognize the figure of Maxwell approaching Nick, Judy, and himself. Though his vision was blurry, he could see that the expression Maxwell wore was sorrow.

"Thanks to your quick action, you three prevented any injury beyond just the infected."

Blake heard Nick and Judy respond to the moose with statements of modesty and gratitude. Still being locked in an embrace with Judy, Blake did not respond. He watched Maxwell kneel down to Blake's level as Judy released him from her grip. Blake did not meet his eyes. Instead, he stayed on his knees and stared weakly at the floor. He heard Maxwell stutter slightly, as if he were rethinking a statement he were about to make.

"Blake...I've been informed the infected were your mother and father. It must have been hard to have to suppress them in this way. However your deed was not in vain. You potentially saved many lives this evening," said Maxwell. Blake blinked.

"Y-yeah," Blake replied quietly. Maxwell patted Blake on the back before he left to join other officers. Slowly, Blake rose to his feet an continued to stare at the floor. His mind was clouded with emotions, thoughts, and questions; too many to handle at once. Blake winced as a headache began to form. Without thinking, Blake took a step forward.

 _I've got to get out of here._ He thought.

Nick and Judy both glanced toward him as soon as he moved. Both opened their mouths to speak, but remained silent. Blake glanced at both of them before returning his gaze to the floor.

"I think I'm gonna go home," Blake stated. Nick and Judy looked at each other for a brief moment before looking back at Blake.

"Uh-" Nick looked out one of the windows facing the parking lot. Swarms of police vehicles, a fire engine, and an ambulance filled the lot. "I don't think you'll be able to get your car out of there," he said, pointing out the window. Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"It's fine...I'll walk."

"We still have to stay a while. Don't worry about us, we'll catch a ride back with one of the others," said Judy.

"Alright. I'll see you 'round then," Blake replied. He began making his way to the door. Through the windows, he saw two previously unseen ambulances pull away from the property. He knew that both of the vehicles contained one of his parents; another wave of intense emotion came over him.

"Wait, before you go, you should stop by the paramedic van in the parking lot and get those paws bandaged up," Judy added. Blake stopped in the doorway and stared down at his blood-stained paws. Blake sighed softly. They were another reminder of what he had done, and Judy's suggestion reminded him that he wanted nothing more than to cover them up.

"Will do," Blake replied. He trudged across the lawn toward the paramedic van. After one quick look at Blake, the paramedic inside was more than happy to help him with his injuries. The paramedic wrapped both of Blake's paws in a bandage. While the paramedic was wrapping another bandage around his head and patching up the scratch on his cheek, Blake noticed that the white fabric of the bandages on his paws were beginning to turn a light red. With all the adrenaline flowing through him, he didn't even know that he was still bleeding.

Blake thanked the medic and left the van. After being cleared to leave the property, Blake began walking down the road. A hundred metres down the winding road, Blake turned onto a pedestrian path. The path had been constructed recently to allow mammals to access this area of the city without having to walk so close to a dangerously busy six-lane highway. The sound of the wind blowing through the pine trees did little to calm Blake's nerves. His surroundings melted away as he retreated into his mind.

 _What happened, happened. I can't change that. My actions were regrettable but necessary. So many mammals could have been hurt or killed today, but thanks to my quick thinking, there were no civilian injuries. But at what price? Both of my parents are in the hospital, and I sent one of them there. I'll never forgive myself... No! Now isn't the time for self pity. I know someone wants me dead, and they were willing to use my parents as pawns to fulfil their duty._

The sound of cars could be heard as Blake drew nearer to the highway. The narrow concrete path emerged from the woods. A massive, open air pedestrian bridge stretched across the freeway. Blake continued down the path toward the bridge. As he stepped onto the bridge, Blake's sadness turned to anger, and he clenched his right paw into a fist.

 _I promise that I will go to whatever lengths I have to to find whoever committed this disgusting act._

Blake stopped and leaned against the railing of the bridge and looked down at the vehicles zooming past beneath him.

 _Mom... Dad... I promise I'll find whoever did this to you._

Blake slammed his left paw against the metal railing. Despite how much it hurt, Blake did not cry out. The bandages began to turn a deeper shade of red as the cuts beneath them opened up once more. Blake clenched his jaw and bore his teeth. Without realizing it, he had begun growling.

"Once I find them, I'll make sure they feel the pain that you and I went through. I'll teach them what it means to hurt! To bleed! To suffer! You hear me? Because I'm coming for you! You'll rue the day you messed with a McInnes!" Blake shouted.

Blake was panting through his teeth. He hadn't noticed that he had been talking out loud instead of in his head. He looked to his left, then to his right. Once he was sure he was alone, he left the railing. Rage filled his being, but it did not distract him from his new goal: to find those responsible for causing his parents misery and show them what it really means to be miserable.

* * *

 _A short update, as this is a pivotal moment in Blake's character._


	18. Chapter 18 - Opportunities

Not even a day after the events that passed at Ivan's, Blake was already being harassed by major news networks and corporations for comments on the whole ordeal. The majority of it was coming in the form of e-mails and phone calls to the college's public number. Blake simply deleted the e-mails and when he was notified of the number of calls being made asking for him, he just told the staff to hang up on anyone asking for him.

Blake didn't sleep that night, his adrenaline didn't allow it. He sat at his computer all night and into early morning, just reading about the attack on several different news sites. As the sun rose, Blake drew the curtains to keep the light out. Later in the morning, messages from his friends began blowing up his phone, asking him if he was alright. He responded to each one with thanks and reassurance that he would be fine.

As the afternoon rolled around, there was a knock on his door. At the moment, Blake was talking with Stephen over a voice chat. At first he only did it to get Stephen to stop spamming him with messages, but talking with him was able to calm him down for a while. Blake got out of his chair for the first time in hours to answer the door. As soon as he opened it, he was met with a bunch of mammals pointing cameras and microphones at him, as well as shouting different questions all at once.

"What the fuck?" shouted Blake as the flash from one of the cameras blinded him. Blake slammed the door and returned to his desk, still rubbing his eyes. The knocking recommenced as he put his headset back on.

"Who was it?" asked Stephen. Blake rolled his eyes and growled.

"It was a whole bunch of reporters," Blake replied.

"Oh..." Stephen said, his voice trailing off. Blake furrowed his brows.

"Why so quiet, Stephen?" Blake growled. Despite not being able to see him, Blake knew that Stephen had slid deeper into his chair.

"Well...I maybe got an e-mail asking if I knew you, and when I said yes they asked where they could find you, so I told them," said Stephen quickly. For a moment, there was silence on Blake's end.

"Okay. One, why the fuck would you do that? And two, why would you tell a stranger on the internet where they could find your friend?" Blake shouted angrily.

"Sorry, they were just so polite," Stephen rebutted. Blake rolled his eyes.

"Right. Well I think I'm gonna go now. I have to call CampSec to get these morons out of here. Catch you later, Steph," Blake said.

"Okay, bye," replied Stephen. Blake picked his phone up from the desk and dialled Campus Security's number. Within ten minutes, the noise and knocking from beyond Blake's door died down, and Blake could finally have some peace and quiet once again. With the distractions gone, and his talk with Stephen over, Blake went back to reading news coverage on the attack.

Through the news, he learned that both his parents were in holding until the effects of the toxin wore off. His mother had woken up and both parents were expected to make a full recovery within two weeks time. As Blake was watching a livestream of a news network, his phone vibrated on the desk. Instinctively, he picked it up and read the notification banner. The notification turned out to be an e-mail from another news source wanting comments on the attack. Blake groaned, but decided to at least humour them by reading their e-mail.

 _To Mr. Blake McInnes,_

 _My name is Spencer Schaffer, from the_ Schaffer Speaks _podcast. We are an audio and video show that discusses all sorts of things concerning the great nation of Animalia, such as politics and recent events. We know you must be in the middle of the grieving process and must be getting swamped with requests from larger, more known mammals, and will respect your decision if you decline. We would like to have you on our show as a special guest on this upcoming episode of_ Sunday Special. _If you would be so kind as to accept, please reply so to this address. Once again, from all of us at_ Schaffer Speaks, _we send our condolences and wish a speedy recovery to your parents._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Spencer Schaffer_

Blake read the e-mail over a second time. Blake noticed that the way the e-mail was worded as if the mammal behind it actually cared that his parents were suffering in the hospital. When he compared this e-mail to the others he had received, he noticed how cold and corporate the others were. Blake had never been interested in podcasts, as when he needed background noise, he would just put his music library on shuffle. Blake hovered over the reply button, half tempted to accept the offer. Blake began to think about what he would do if he did.

 _You'd be able to talk to someone about the whole thing. You'll be able to have a conversation about the Night Howler thing as a whole with someone who's well informed on the topic._

Blake tapped the reply button. Word by word, he typed out his response. Within five minutes, he had thanked the faculty at the podcast for their sentiments, and that he would be happy to speak to someone so kind and thoughtful. He also added in the tidbit that he had been attempting to shut himself away from the MSM, but was moved by their heartfelt words. Once he was happy with his short paragraph, he hit send and awaited a response.

The response came within hours. Blake stopped following the news coverage and picked up his phone the instant it vibrated. He opened the reply and read it. The folks down at _Schaffer Speaks_ were delighted that Blake had accepted their offer. Detailed in the e-mail was the location of their studio along with directions, and that he was to arrive at ten-thirty the next morning at the latest to give him an opportunity to speak with Spencer before the podcast went live at eleven.

Blake glanced at the time. His computer's clock read four-thirty. Blake had remembered that he had been up for over twenty-four hours now, and that he desperately needed to get to bed and get some sleep. Blake shut his computer down and changed into some more comfortable clothes. He then went around the dorm closing every blind, making sure that no light could get in. Once he was certain the place was as dark as it could possibly be at four in the afternoon, Blake hopped in bed and set his alarm for eight, in case he slept that long. Blake finally closed his eyes and rest his head on his pillow. He had never fallen asleep faster in his life.

Blake awoke with a start the next day. He glanced to his left to check the time. The red alarm clock told him that it was five o'clock. Knowing full well that he wasn't going back to sleep after a full twelve hours, he hopped out of bed and walked over to his bathroom. He flipped on the light switch and immediately went temporarily blind due to the sudden shift in lighting. Once his eyes recovered, he brushed his teeth and grabbed a towel from the cabinet and placed it on the counter. He turned on the shower and began removing yesterday's clothes.

When he took of his shirt, the bandage that the paramedic had given him the day before came off with it. This prompted Blake to look at himself in the mirror. The fur on his face was matted in different directions and the bandage over the cuts on his cheek had a large red stain in the middle. Blake carefully peeled the patch off his face to reveal the cuts. They still hadn't scabbed over properly and the fur around them was nearly black due to the blood they had soaked.

The bloody bandage in his paw reminded him of the two other bandages that were wrapped tightly around his paws. He debated whether or not to remove these ones, as his paws were injured more severely than his face was. However, he had a couple of rolls of bandages packed away in the first aid kit his mother had given him when he first came to college. With this in mind, Blake decided he would remove the old bandages and replace them once he was out of the shower.

Carefully, he removed each of the bandages from his paws. The injury was worse than he thought. From the largest knuckle to the very tip of each finger, cuts, both small and large covered the surface of the skin. The fur on each finger was matted against the skin and was a deep black colour just like the fur on his face. He attempted to bend his fingers without the bandages. He was met with more pain than with them on, and the cuts on any of the joints broke open. As blood slowly dripped from his fingers, Blake quickly removed the rest of his clothes and got into the shower.

As the water poured over him, the cuts began to sting. Blake winced as the water poured over his face, and even more so when it made its way to his paws. Blake knew instantly that the shower had to be quick. He had difficulties moving his paws around to rub the soap into his fur, and the water was tinted a light red from the blood leaking from his open wounds. He managed to scrub the dried blood from his fur and return it to its original colour. Once satisfied, he cut the water and hopped out quickly.

He covered his paws with the towel in hopes of slowing the blood flow. He then dried himself off with the other side of the towel. Once he was dry, he dug the first aid kit out from under the sink and rummaged through it in search of the bandages. He found the two rolls and immediately began wrapping his left paw with one of them. Once that one was done, he moved on to the right. With both paws wrapped up, he walked out of the washroom with his dirty clothes and towel. Before he threw his towel into his laundry pile, he noticed that one side was stained with his blood.

 _Probably wasn't the best idea to use a white towel today._ He thought.

Blake picked out the day's clothes; a simple black hoodie and a pair of khaki pants. He looked at himself in the mirror to get a look at his outfit. He noticed how obvious the cuts on his face were. Blake decided that he would let them get some air and close up properly. The downside to this was that they were a huge identifying feature, and anyone who knew even a little bit about the recent Night Howler attack would recognize him as one of the victims. Blake grabbed his phone from the computer desk and checked the time. It was six-thirty A.M.

Blake shoved the device into his pocket and pulled the blind open. The sun had already risen, but it being blocked out by thick grey clouds. Blake left the blind open and walked over to his computer chair. He sat down and turned his computer on. While he waited for it to boot up, he checked his messages. There was one message from Nick and Judy.

 _Your car had to be removed from the parking lot at Ivan's. Don't worry, it's at the HQ. Pick it up whenever you feel like it._

Blake didn't respond to the message. He made a mental note that he would have to pick it up once he was done with the podcast. He made another mental note that he would have to walk to town, and with the location of the studio, it would take him at least an hour to get there. The computer monitor came on as soon as his desktop loaded. Reflexively, he clicked on his internet browser icon. He searched for the most recent Night Howler attack to see if there had been any development. To his dismay, there was none, but another headline caught his interest.

He clicked on the headline; something to do with the mayor of Borealis, and began reading the following article. The article stated that, in a recent interview that marshal law would be enforced on all predators starting Sunday, May fifth.

 _It's the least we can do to keep the population of Borealis safe -Mayor Alistair Macbeth_

If Blake were to be honest with himself, he had known this was bound to happen eventually. Blake simply rolled his eyes and sighed. He turned off the power to his computer. He figured he would leave a littler earlier and get himself some breakfast before heading to the studio. He pocketed his phone as well as his keys and left the dorm room, making sure his door was locked before he left.

The campus was silent, as it should be on a Sunday morning. Nobody had any lectures to go to, and most were asleep because they drank too much the night before. Blake walked through the parking lot, stopping to stare at his empty space. He left campus property and began walking down the sidewalk into town. Despite there being no sun heating up the air, Blake still considered it to be a nice morning. He had always loved overcast weather.

The walk to town was uneventful and lengthy to boot. It was eight by the time Blake arrived within the Financial District and he still had a ways more to go until he would reach the studio. The main street going through the city was clogged with busy mammals trying to get to work, the sidewalks shared the same issue. Most didn't even notice he was there, but there were always the odd few who pointed out the cuts on his face or his patched up paws to the mammal they were commuting with. They all shared one thing, however; no mammal made direct eye contact.

Ten minutes into walking down the main street, Blake decided to stop for some breakfast. It had been a long enough time without a meal, and Blake was proper famished. Blake picked out a rather empty looking coffee shop on one of the street corners. The fact that it was empty on a Sunday morning intrigued him. He pushed open the single glass door and the jingle of a small bell could be heard coming from above. On cue with the bell ringing, an elderly wolf emerged from the kitchen drying what looked like a coffee mug.

Blake approached the counter, taking in the atmosphere of the small shop. The car's horns and mammal's voices from outside all but disappeared as the door finally closed. The way the lighting was set up matched with the colours of the walls made the dining area feel as if it was being subjected to a perpetual sunrise. Blake was amazed.

"Whoa, how could a place like this be empty? It's gorgeous!" Blake said aloud. The wolf behind the counter put the mug and rag down and approached the counter.

"I put so much work into it. It's a shame hardly anyone comes in anymore," said the wolf suddenly. The wolf's voice caused Blake to jump. He whipped around to face the wolf.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you come out," Blake added hastily. The wolf chuckled.

"No worries. Now, I gotta ask. You must be from outta town, right?" Blake shook his head.

"No, I've lived here all my life. I just never took the time to walk down the main street. You see, I'm actually living on the college campus just outside the district. I have a thing at ten-thirty, and my car's kinda out of commission right now," Blake explained. The wolf nodded and lifted a paw to his face.

"I see. It's been a while since you took a walk down the main drag, eh?"

"Yeah. When I had my car, I would always avoid it because of how bad traffic was." Blake scanned the empty dining room. Through the tinted glass he could see the figures of mammals walking past, not even glancing at the shop. "Is it always this empty?" He added, pointing at one of the empty tables over his shoulder.

"Yeah. Like I said before, it's a shame." Blake sighed.

"I suppose that's not very good for business, huh." The wolf shrugged.

"Well, I'm still making money. A big chunk of all or orders are online. Thanks to these new apps that let you order food from anywhere and have it delivered, everyone, including most of my old regulars started ordering their stuff for delivery. I had to switch all my servers to delivery we get so many. I'm not complaining, but I spent so much time on trying to create a space where mammals felt at home while they ate." The wolf sighed. "Now that they can eat my food at home, they don't have to come here." The wolf stared off into one of the dining room's corners. Blake stood silently; speechless.

"Why not just opt out of the delivery services? Won't your customers come back then?" Blake asked. The wolf shook his head.

"That's not how it works, kid. The take out orders are where I make my money. If I cut them now, the shop would go under. As much as I don't like it, I have to keep doing it to stay afloat."

"It must be awful, having no choice but to do something you don't want to," Blake said.

"Yeah, but I do it because that's what I have to do to keep my livelihood." Blake frowned.

"Hey. I was looking for some breakfast while I was walking through. Do you think I'd be able to get something?" The wolf smiled.

"Sure, what'll you have?" said the wolf. He reached under the counter and grabbed a ticket book and a pen.

"Do you have any specials?" asked Blake. Using his pen, the wolf pointed at a chalkboard on the wall to Blake's right. Written neatly on it were the day's breakfast and lunch specials. Blake nodded. "I think that's what I want." The wolf wrote down the order on the ticket.

"Is that to go, then?" asked the wolf. Blake pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. It had only been fifteen minutes.

"You know, I have time. I think I'll sit down," Blake said, offering a friendly smile. The wolf returned the gesture as he closed the ticket book.

"You got it. Take a seat wherever, makes no difference to me," said the wolf before disappearing back into the kitchen. Blake sat down at the table closest to the counter and continued to admire the aesthetic of the shop. Within half an hour, the elderly wolf returned with Blake's plate. The two talked as Blake ate. When the time came, Blake paid his bill. He gave the wolf a large tip, and even ordered a drink to go.

"Thanks for the meal, it was really good. I'll definitely be stopping in again," Blake said as he opened the door. The wolf gave Blake a friendly wave from behind the counter.

"I'll see ya 'round, kid. Have a good one," the wolf replied. As Blake took off down the main street, he checked the time. It was nine-thirty.

 _I really wish that place had more traffic. It really deserves it. And the owner is such an inspiration. He does what he has to and does so without complaining. While we were talking, I had completely forgotten about the podcast I was supposed to be starring on. In addition, I thought he'd ask about the scratches or bandages, but he didn't. I wouldn't have minded, but how respectful of him._

Blake continued down the street to the location detailed in the e-mail. He thought about what he was gonna say once the cameras and microphones started rolling. While he thought, a small worry sprouted. He feared that he would start talking about the topic and just start going off like he did on the bridge just a few days ago. Blake stared at the concrete and shook his head.

 _I won't let that happen again. This isn't the place for that._


	19. Chapter 19 - Questions Remain

Blake felt his heart rate rise as the building he was looking for came into view. The building itself wasn't too special, but what happened within its walls could bring about big change. Blake began to think harder about what he would say when the cameras and microphones were rolling, and it occurred to him that he hadn't given enough thought to the things he wanted to discuss with Spencer. He cursed himself. He was supposed to spend the time eating breakfast thinking about that, but he became too wrapped into conversation with the owner of the small cafe that it slipped his mind.

Blake shook the negative thoughts to the back of his head as he crossed the last street standing in his way between the concrete and glass structure and himself. As he approached the building, there was no sign that there was even a podcast being filmed in there; no advertising, no signs, nothing. Just the street number engraved onto a stone plate and hung above the doors. Blake approached the doors and pulled on them – they were unlocked, to his surprise. The main lobby of the building was filled with typical waiting room furniture, and a reception desk at the very back of the room. He looked to both his left and his right before he slowly began approaching the desk.

The beaver looked up and over the surface of the desk Blake walked up to it. He offered a welcoming smile and stopped tapping away at a keyboard hidden beyond Blake's line of sight. The desktop was home to a few business card holders the different businesses that were located within the building. As he looked them over, Blake noticed one advertising Spencer's podcast, _Spencer Speaks._

"Can I help you with anything?" asked the receptionist in a cheery voice. Nick returned his smile and put his paws into his pockets.

"Yes. I was told via email to meet Spencer Schaffer at this address. Is he here?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow at Blake and eyed him over. The beaver took notice of the cuts on Blake's face. His expression dropped as he turned back to his computer.

"I'll give him a call," replied the receptionist. As the beaver lifted the receiver of his telephone, Blake lifted a paw to the cuts on his face. He glanced around at the floor as he rubbed his fingers over the gashes. Maybe he should have covered them. That way, the public would stare less, and the odd looks they would give him would disappear. Blake lowered his paw. It was far too late for that. The receptionist put down the receiver and turned back to Blake. "He'll be out in a moment."

Since he caught the beaver staring, Blake avoided eye contact with him. The only sounds in the lobby were the central air system and the sound of typing coming from behind the desk. After an unbearably silent thirty seconds, an otter dressed in semi-formal attire emerged from a large door to the right of the receptionist's desk. He flashed a toothy grin and waved.

"Ah, good morning, Blake. How are you this morning?" he asked as he stopped in front of him. Instead of opting for the traditional paw-shake, Spencer reached as high as he could in an attempt to pat him on the shoulder. Due to his short height, and Blake's involuntary uncooperativeness, the highest Spencer was able to reach was Blake's upper arm.

"I'm doing just fine this morning, nothing too exciting," Blake replied. Spencer's demeanour faltered slightly at Blake's tone, but managed to keep his smile going.

"That's okay. Before we go anywhere, I just want to say in person that I give you my condolences and wish your parents a speedy recovery." Blake didn't know how to respond initially, as he was confused on whether to be thankful, or to be offended that he brought it up so soon. After a few seconds, Blake eventually decided that since they were gonna spend a whole thirty to forty-five minutes talking about it anyway, that he would thank him.

Spencer tugged on the bottom of Blake's shirt and motioned for him to follow. The otter led Blake around the right side of the receptionist's desk through the door that Spencer had emerged from previously. As they walked down a darkened hallway, Spencer attempted to spark conversation.

"In case you're a bit confused, this building is shared between multiple businesses. That secretary out there directs you to whatever floor you need to get to. Our podcast gets the first floor as it's the one with the tallest ceilings and room for studio lighting," Spencer said.

"I suppose that's good. So it's pretty much like renting out office space?" Blake replied. Now that he was really inside the building, he was beginning to stress over how he was going to talk about everything. He was beginning to regret not thinking about it beforehand. "Hey, Mr. Schaffer, I have a few questions," Blake added. Spencer quickly glanced at Blake before returning to his original position.

"Hit me. And you can call me Spencer, by the way," he replied.

"How is this gonna be structured? Is there a script or something? I didn't put enough thought into this."

Spencer led Blake into what was most likely the podcast room, which was easily the largest room on the floor. Spencer was right when he said that the ceilings were tall, as there were a multitude of lights hanging from them. A couple of long tables and some chairs were set up in the middle of the room. All four of the chairs had a microphone set up somewhere around it, and there was a large TV at the far end of the table.

"There's usually a topic, in this case it's the Night Howler attacks, but other than that it's pretty script free. It's pretty much like having a discussion, but with mammals listening to and watching us, as well as the occasional ad," Spencer led Blake to the set the table and sat him down at one of the chairs farthest away from the TV. Spencer walked around and sat across from him. "Don't sweat it." Blake sighed.

"Alright, I trust you," Blake replied. Spencer smiled.

"Awesome, we'll be starting in about five minutes." Blake stared down at the surface of the table and tried to go over what they would be covering within the hour. The more he thought, the less confident he became. His first worry was being able to speak in a clear and concise manner and avoiding any emotional flare ups. He glanced up at Spencer, who was looking over some notes. Soon after, one of the mammals from behind the sound equipment left their post and walked up to Spencer. He took the papers when he left. Spencer looked up to see Blake staring at him.

"Think of it this way: pretend it's not a podcast that's being recorded, and that were just having a conversation at the dinner table. Don't look at the cameras." Blake nodded.

"I'll do my best," Blake replied. Spencer chuckled.

"It's all I can ask of you." As Blake leaned back in his chair, one of the other staff members walked up to him. He was confused at first, but then the mammal reached over him and adjusted the microphone stand. Once he was done, the mammal gave him a thumbs up and left. The sound mammal from before hushed the room an announced that they would be going live in thirty seconds. Blake felt his breathing speed up. "I'll do my intro, then I'll address you, then we'll start the discussion. Got it?" Blake nodded.

From behind the sound equipment, one of the mammals made eye contact with Spencer. He held out his paw and began counting down from three, as well as out loud.

"We're live in three...two...one..." When the mammal reached one, he pointed toward Spencer, and on cue, Spencer began to speak.

"On this week's Sunday Special, we talk about the recent goings on in Borealis, how the public are reacting, and we take a look at how local and national news groups are covering them. As usual, we have a guest with us today and this guest has a story to tell and stances to state. I'm Spencer Schaffer and this is Spencer Speaks." Spencer fell silent for a few seconds, presumably for a pre-rendered intro cutscene of some kind. As soon as he stopped, he started up again.

"Alright. If you live in or around Borealis, or you've been keeping up with the news cycle, you know exactly what's going on. However for those who haven't, over the past few months, there have been a string of Night Howler attacks happening here. There's a lot to discuss, and this week's guest is well versed in the whole topic through research and personal experience. This week's guest is Blake McInnes, college student, and apprentice at the BMP." Blake realized that this was his cue.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me on Mr. Schaffer," Blake replied. Spencer chuckled.

"Come on now, no need to be so formal," Spencer added. Blake smiled sheepishly. "So Blake, tell us about what you do and who you are."

"Well, I'm a Borealis native; I've lived here my whole live. I know the place like the back of my paws. My family is well off enough, so I was able to go to the nicer schools growing up. I've moved out now, but my parents still live in the same house that they had since they got married. It's in one of the suburbs. After high school was all done I was accepted to my first choice college and that's where I am now. Currently, I'm in my third year," Blake said. Spencer nodded.

"Okay, so as you must be aware of by now, there have been a string of Night Howler attacks happening across the city, causing distress throughout the city's population. To go over the events, there have been three attacks as of the recording of this podcast. The first one being at the Tower of Peace, the second at a highly populated outdoor skating rink, and the most recent one, and happened only two days ago, at a restaurant just outside of town. If it's alright with you, we're gonna discuss each attack separately."

"Yeah, it's fine." The screen to Blake's left illuminated with what looked like a news article dating back to March of that year. To be specific, it was one of the first articles on the first Night Howler attack. Seeing the article brought bad memories to Blake's conscience. He attempted to dismiss them and focused on the task at hand.

"So the Peace Tower attack happened what seemed like forever ago, but it has, in fact, only been two months. There were only minor injuries to the first victim, a Mr. Jay Arlington, and the infected who has since been released from hospital who goes by the name Brett Marshall. Were you at the BMP when this first attack happened?" Blake nodded.

"I was, I was there for all three."

"Right, so, how was it to respond to this first attack?" Blake shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I was there kind of on accident. That day was supposed to be a kind of orientation day, and I wanted give Nick and Judy a tour of the downtown area before we started doing any police work. We decided on visiting the Peace Tower, since it's Borealis' flagship landmark. On the way there, traffic was very heavy, and I cut around using the side streets to get there quicker." Spencer leaned back in his chair and raised a paw to his face.

"Nick and Judy as in the detectives from Zootopia?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah."

"I didn't know they were here. They're here to help with the Night Howler case?"

"Ehh, that's what it seems like now. Back then, they were here to be my teachers in the program I'm enrolled in."

"That's cool! How lucky are you?" Spencer asked excitedly.

"That's what I was thinking the whole way there...until we reached the Tower." Blake's tone turned grave. Spencer frowned.

When we got there, Brett was already being detained and Jay was being attended to by paramedics. Chief Maxwell was there directing things. Nick and Judy ran up and asked what was going on, and that's when we found out what happened. The Chief introduced himself, making sure to add that this was not the way he wanted us to meet." Blake continued.

"I can understand that." Spencer turned from Blake to look at one of the three cameras pointed at the table. "Chief Maxwell was interviewed at the scene of the crime, but had little to say at the time. Those reporters were probably keeping him from doing his job." Blake turned to another camera.

"That's what it sounded like when I watched the news clip." Blake let his shoulders drop.

"Now, how was the police station the next day?" Spencer asked. Blake debated on what to say to the otter. He hadn't told anyone about his appearance on the podcast, so he decided to play it safe.

"I don't think I can talk too much about what goes on down there. Y'know, privacy and such." Spencer nodded.

"I suppose so. A month of silence proceeded the Peace Tower attack, then we transition to the skating rink attack. This attack is a landmark of sorts, as it's the first attack of its kind to cause a death. If we knew nothing of the previous attack, we know even less about this one. All we do know is that there were lots injured and lots infected. I'd go as far as to say that this is the worst Night Howler attack in history." Blake thought back to the ice rink.

"I didn't catch the news on that one, but I did know about the death as I arrived. A large number of mammals gathered around a post across the street and were holding a vigil for him. We were sent to check out the group and make sure things were okay. A few small fights broke out, but nothing too serious. The looks on all those mammals' faces, prey and predator, were all the same: mournful."

"The weeks that followed the ice rink attack saw the behaviour of the internet come into the real world; predator and prey turned against each other. Prey lived in fear that the predators could turn at any moment, and the predators feared that the prey would retaliate against them for things beyond their control." Blake thought for a moment.

"I've noticed that no reports showed how the predators went savage. Some even go as far to call the Night Howler attacks 'Savage Predator' attacks," Blake added.

"That is true, isn't it. These types of attacks happened almost a year ago in Zootopia, but things were cleared up once they knew what was causing the behaviour in the predators. Here, they're not even trying to mention Night Howlers," Spencer stated

"You think there's some sort of cover up?" Blake asked suddenly?

"Are you conspiring?" Spencer replied with a smirk. Blake shook his head rapidly.

"No, no. Just throwing it out there." Spencer raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, another month passed, which brings us to three attacks. Three attacks in three months. This time, a popular tourist restaurant just outside town. Two were infected, but miraculously none were injured. This is all thanks to one courageous mammal keeping the two infected at bay while authorities were contacted. And, surprise, that courageous mammal is sitting right in front of me." Blake looked toward the floor.

"It's nothing." Blake said quietly. Spencer rolled his eyes and groaned.

"It's not nothing, don't be so modest! You saved a lot of lives." Blake lifted his bandaged up paws to the table and stared at them. They still hurt quite a bit, and they were beginning to darken in some spots.

"You're forgetting who the infected were." Blake said solemnly. Spencer's expression fell.

"That's right...they were your parents." Blake lifted his head.

"I never would have done that normally. It's just that they started attacking me specifically. My mom knocked herself out, leaving me to fight against my dad. I don't know what happened, but I just knew I had to keep fighting him. Once I was done, I just lost it," Blake continued.

"I can't imagine how you felt then and how you feel now. Once again, I want to give you my sympathy and hope your parents make a speedy recovery."

"Thanks, it's kind of hard to pretend everything's fine when an event of this magnitude happened only two days ago," Blake said quietly. He thought back to the pedestrian bridge. He blinked once and rubbed the paw that he slammed against the railing. It hurt significantly more than the other one now.

"As of right now, there are no suspects as to who is committing all these atrocities. The police are working as hard as they can to solve this case. Remember, Hopps and Wilde are here as well, so we still have hope. In addition, protective measures are being put into place to keep citizens safe. Mayor Alistair Macbeth just imposed a curfew of ten o'clock for all predator mammals starting tomorrow."

Blake began to lose himself in his thoughts as Spencer began discussing deeper into the topic. Blake would answer questions whenever he was asked, but continued thinking about the whole ordeal as the podcast drew on. Different images flashed across the TV screen to his left and he watched as Spencer glanced from the TV, to him, to one of the cameras. Blake's vision fell out of focus and before he knew it, Spencer was snapping his fingers in his face. Blake shook himself awake.

"There you are, we lost you for a second. Thank you for tuning into our podcast this Sunday morning. Feel free to head to our website and subscribe for those who haven't. Blake, thanks for coming on, I had a great time talking with you, and my viewers had a great time listening." Blake shrugged.

"It was no problem, I had a great time too." With that, the cameras and microphones were turned off and the lights grew brighter. Blake shook Spencer's paw and the two of them walked back to the front of the building. When they reached the front foyer, Spencer thanked Blake once again for coming onto his show. Spencer handed Blake his card. Blake left the building, turning to wave as he pushed the door open.

 _Gotta get my car from the police station._ Blake thought.

Blake pulled his phone from his pocket and searched for the police station's address. From where Blake was standing, it would be a thirty minute walk. Blake returned the device to his pocket and began walking. Not one minute into the walk, he felt the device vibrate. He pulled the device out once more to check his notifications; it was a text from Chief Maxwell.

 _Delete my contact after my next message._

Blake raised an eyebrow in confusion. He stared intently at the phone's display, waiting for the second message. A full minute passed before it came in.

 _Come to this address. I need to talk to you in private: 1059 Bell Crescent._

Blake memorized the address and deleted the message and contact as instructed. He was still confused, however, as to why the Chief would text him something as cryptic as this. Blake continued to the police station, since he still needed to retrieve his car.

* * *

 _It took me a while for me to finally be happy with this chapter. It used to be over ten thousand words, but I was able to condense it down to about three thousand. -Prince_


	20. Chapter 20 - The Next Steps

It had warmed up considerably since that morning. The sun relentlessly beat down onto the concrete below it, and Blake was beginning to feel the effects. After all, Blake was an arctic fox, a winter mammal. And as much as he loved the summer, the heat would always get to him. He tried his best to avoid the sun's rays by walking in the shade cast by the tall buildings. As the sun rose higher into the sky as the day rolled on, shade was becoming scarce. He had ended up removing his hoodie and tying around his waist. It cooled him down, but it didn't stop it from being unseasonably warm that afternoon.

The police station came into view after twenty minutes of walking. Blake sighed in relief, he could already feel his car's air conditioner cooling him off. Once past the gate, Blake began the search for his vehicle. The lot wasn't particularly full, so it was no challenge to spot his little black hatchback amongst the other impounded cars. His car was easily in the best condition, since the others were either mangled from being in a wreck, or were just poorly maintained. Blake pressed a button on his remote starter and the car responded by unlocking its doors. He pressed another and the car started.

The vehicle was just as he had left it. He got behind the wheel and buckled his seat belt. He waved at the employee at the gate as he passed through and onto the street. After driving down the busy city streets for a couple minutes, Blake remembered what he had to do next. He was requested by Chief Maxwell at his place at 1059 Bell Crescent. Blake did not know the occasion, but he was asked to remove the Chief's contact from his phone afterwards. Already having did so, Blake quickly input the address into his phone's Maps application and followed the route laid out for him.

The GPS took him to nicer part of town. A part where many upscale townhouses were built and being built. The oldest building in the development couldn't be older than five years. As he navigated the winding streets, he had remembered coming here as a teen, especially during his senior year of high school. He would walk the newly paved streets in the early hours of the morning and just think. Whether it be about an upcoming test or exam, or just to get some fresh air, the forever under construction neighborhood of Arbor was where he would go. He hadn't visited since he started attending college, and seeing it just about done was a surreal experience for Blake.

Blake observed the house numbers, looking for the one he needed. After a few minutes of driving, he was rewarded with the house number he was looking for: number 1059. Blake pulled his car over to the curb and cut the engine. Blake left his vehicle and began walking up the stone pathway through the front yard to the door. He observed that the shades were drawn in every window he could see. When he reached the door, he slowly lifted his paw to the knocker on the door. He knocked twice.

A few seconds passed before he could hear movement inside the townhouse. He listened as the steps grew louder as they approached the door. The door opened a smidge, emitting a slow creak as it did. The door hung open for a few seconds as a single, unblinking eye stared at him through the crack. In an instant, an arm shot out of the crack and grabbed Blake's shoulder. Blake's eyes widened, and he let out a little yelp as he was pulled into the townhouse. The door closed behind him with a thud.

Blake took a few seconds to gather his bearings as the mammal who yanked him in backed up. The house was nicely decorated and nearly spotless. Chief Maxwell looked down at Blake as he stood in front of the door, taking in his surroundings.

"You made it, good," said Maxwell. Blake groaned.

"Yeah. Did you have to pull me in like that, though?" Blake replied, rubbing his shoulder. Maxwell's expression remained unchanged.

"Yes. I don't want anyone to know that you came here. I sent my wife out to run some errands, and the kids are at school, so this is the perfect time for us to talk. I don't know when she'll be back so we need to make this quick," Maxwell rambled.

"Okay, so tell me, what's going on? Why did you ask me to delete your number like that? Why the cryptic messages?" Blake asked, crossing his arms. Maxwell waved an arm and disappeared into his living room. Blake followed. Maxwell took a seat on the leftmost side of the couch, Blake took the other.

"I sent the messages that way and I made you delete the number because I didn't want it anyone to know you had contact with me if your phone were to ever go missing," said Maxwell. Blake raised an eyebrow, confused. He lifted his phone from his pocket and stared for a few seconds before returning to Maxwell.

"Okay? Who's gonna care that I have your number? What does that have to do with anything?" Blake asked. Maxwell sighed. He leaned in toward Blake, Blake leaning back reflexively.

"I've been sacked," Maxwell said quickly. It took a few seconds to register, and when it did, Blake didn't believe him. Blake asked Maxwell to repeat himself, and he did. It was clear that Blake did, in fact, hear him correctly. Maxwell had been removed from his position as Chief of Police.

"What? How? Who?" Blake asked all at once. Maxwell lifted a finger and hushed him up instantly.

"I was approached by one of the suits in my office today. I was handed a paper that essentially stated that I was to be replaced as Chief of Police and that there were to be some changes made," Maxwell explained. Blake stared at Maxwell for a few seconds, mouth agape in silent shock.

"They're onto us, aren't they," Blake said dejectedly. Maxwell stared at the ground. He recalled that he had just recently shared his theory about the Night Howler attacks with him.

"Not onto us, onto me," Maxwell replied. Blake raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Why just you?" Blake asked.

"I must have spent a little too much time on the internet looking around for anything that might help. That's probably why they wanted to see me gone. However, when I was preparing to leave, I wiped the computer of anything regarding you. As for the physical documents," Maxwell reached onto the side table and handed Blake a folder with his name and photo glued to the front. "They're gone as well," Maxwell tossed Blake a book of matches.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked. Maxwell smiled.

"They have no way of knowing that you were ever there. My guess is that they thought I was getting close to solving the case on my own. Since they don't know you're there, you can keep working on this on your own, and in addition, you won't have the co-op to worry about."

"So I can work on the case by myself, pretty much?" Blake asked. Maxwell nodded. Blake's expression lifted. "Even better, exams finish next week, so I'll have even more time to work on it after then,"

"Yes, excellent. Now, we need to get rid of this folder. Come with me to the backyard." Blake and Maxwell both rose from the couch, and Blake followed Maxwell through the townhouse and into the backyard. On the patio bricks, Maxwell gave Blake the OK. Blake tossed the folder onto the bricks. He then took a match from the box and struck it. He dropped the match onto the folder and watched as it was slowly but surely consumed by flame.

"As of now, you have never been to the Department, and you will never return." Blake stared up at Maxwell as the last of the folder was turned to ash. Maxwell reached for the garden hose and sprayed the remains of the folder into the lawn. "Remember, you can no longer contact Nick or Judy. You work alone. If I need to see you, I will call, but never save the number, and clear your calls after taking one from me. You're going to find out what's really going on here," Maxwell concluded.

The two mammals reentered the house and Maxwell walked Blake to the front door. They exchanged a glance before Blake left. He sprinted from the front door to his car and drove away as fast as he could. As he drove down the winding roads, Blake recollected what had just happened.

 _Okay, so Maxwell got sacked, I have no access to any police resources, including Nick and Judy. Whoever is behind this knows that Maxwell and I were onto them, and Maxwell paid the price. Not all bad, though. They don't know that I was in league with him, so while they think that their troubles are over, they're really only just beginning. Blake McInnes is still onto you, and now he has all the free time in the world to track you down and pay for what you've done._

* * *

Despite the sunny day, the light could not pierce the thick shades before the window. A mammal, a small one, sat at his oversized desk. There was minimal light in the room, so the mammal sat in shadow. The room was quiet, save for the occasional stirring to the mammal's left. The silence was disturbed by a knock on the door.

"It's open," said the mammal. Another mammal, a female, entered the room. From where he was sitting, the female could not be made out due to the bright lights from the hallway beyond the door.

"Maxwell has been taken care of, sir. He is no longer in charge of things over there," said the female voice.

"Good, but that's not what I care about. Maxwell was only half the problem," said the mammal as he glared over to his left. The light from the hallway beyond the door illuminated the corner slightly. The light cast the shadow of a beaver onto the wall behind him. "Was there anything on a 'Blake McInnes?'" the mammal asked. The female stuttered.

"No...sir, there was nothing about any 'Blake' at the station." The mammal growled. He hopped off his chair and gave a firm kick to the beaver's side. The beaver cried out.

"Why do you lie to me, Ryder? It doesn't improve your situation any." shouted the mammal.

"I swear he was working for him, sir. I swear it!" The mammal kicked Ryder again, causing Ryder to cry out once more.

"No, no, I've had enough of your lies." The mammal kicked Ryder a third time and spat on his shirt. "You sicken me." The mammal turned to the female in the doorway. "I want him out of my office." The female nodded and entered the room. She began to untie Ryder' chain; the chain that linked Ryder to the desk.

"Since this kid talks so much about him, maybe you could send him out to look for him," said the female, taking the chain in her paw. The mammal pondered for a moment before sprouting a toothy grin.

"Yes, perhaps that might be a good idea. He goes to find Blake, he brings Blake back to me, and then we can take care of him ourselves. It's brilliant." The mammal glared at Ryder, who cowered away from his stare. "Would you mind doing that for me? My opinion of you would greatly improve..." he said. Ryder nodded furiously.

"Yes! Yes, I can do this for you, sir, anything to please you," Ryder begged. The mammal flashed a wicked smile.

"Good." He turned to the female. "Take him to get cleaned up, then send him out with fresh gear." He turned back to Ryder. "You are to answer to her. What ever she wants you to do, you will do with no questions asked, is that understood?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Ryder replied weakly.

"Wonderful. Take him away, I wish not to see his face anymore, not until he returns with Blake."

* * *

 _Boy, am I glad I didn't promise an update schedule. -Prince_


	21. Chapter 21 - Departure

Nick stared blankly out the window of his and Judy's high-rise hotel room. The room granted stellar views of the city as well as the lush coniferous forest that surrounded it. Behind him on one of the beds sat Judy, reading something from her phone. The two had just received the news that Maxwell had been replaced with a new Chief, as well as hearing that their co-op term with Blake has ended early. Nick sighed. In addition to the co-op, Nick and Judy had been working on the string of Night Howler cases that have been popping up around the city.

With the co-op program over, and with the new Chief, they no longer knew anyone beyond their last name and their rank. When they had received the news, it wasn't even through Maxwell himself – it was through a short segment on ZNN that they just happened to catch. They attempted to call the station, but no one was answering the phone. They then attempted to contact Maxwell, and finally Blake, but were met with much of the same. At a loss of what to do, they emailed Bogo back in Zootopia for some direction.

Within the hour, they received a response from Bogo. The email talked about setting up a video call to discuss further activities after Bogo finished his work day. Nick and Judy signed off on the video call, and that was the end of that. With the confirmation sent out, they had about half a day to kill before their call. Judy, having reached the end of whatever she was reading, tossed her phone onto one of the pillows before falling backward, groaning loudly of frustration and boredom.

"What are we gonna do for the next what, it's three o'clock now, so... three hours?" Judy complained. Nick shot a glance in her direction before returning to his previous activity of staring out the window.

"I duuno, Fluff. I've been sitting on one idea for the past little while, but I'm not sure you'd want to go through with it," Nick replied. Judy sat up straight faster than a bullet fired from a rifle.

"What is it? Tell me! Anything to kill the time," Judy shouted. Nick turned away from the window and placed his arms behind his back."

"You sure? It sounds kind of odd the more I think about it," Nick warned. Judy leaped from the bed and rushed toward Nick. She stopped only an inch away from him and stared up toward him, eyes wide. Nick leaned down to meet her gaze, their faces only inches apart.

"Spit it out, Fox," she said. Nick pulled away from the doe.

"Alright, if that's what you want, so long as you don't think I'm a creep." Judy's ears drooped.

"You're worrying me, Nick. What could you possibly be thinking of that would make you a creep?" Nick hesitated for a few seconds before drawing a breath in. He closed his eyes and slowly let it out before looking back toward Judy.

"Well, because we couldn't get him on the phone, we could just go to Blake's dorm and talk to him in person." Judy pondered over Nick's idea, finally understanding why it might be considered a bit creepy.

"Ah, you want some familiarity, is all. There's no problem with that, even though he's kind of our former student. It shouldn't be too weird, since we're all adults here, He's what, twenty, twenty-one years old? It'll be fine." Nick had buried his face into his paws. Through them, he replied.

"Thanks for the recap, Carrots." Without a moment to waste, the two departed the hotel room together. As the elevator brought them down to the lobby, Judy reached for her phone. This caught Nick's attention.

"Should I call a cab?" she asked. Nick shook his head.

"Why? We have plenty of time to spare. Since it's such a nice day outside, I figured we could walk. There's no harm in that, right?" Judy thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. She returned the phone to her pocket.

"Guess not. Good exercise too," she added. The two of them walked through the lobby and out onto the street. The late May sun beat down onto the pavement below, but a cool breeze kept the air from feeling to warm and humid. They started walking East toward the college campus. It was about five kilometres away from the edge of the Financial District, so they had quite a ways to go.

As they left the district, the effects of the wind could be felt to their fullest extent, since the skyscrapers were no longer blocking it. The steady wind was cold enough, but whenever a gust blew by it was enough to make the pair shiver. With the wind came clouds, and the longer they walked, the darker the clouds got. They arrived on campus an hour and a half after they left. Another fifteen minutes and they'd be at Blake's residence building.

"And it was looking to be such a nice day, too," Nick said. "If it starts raining, then we'll have to get a ride back." Judy nodded. As they approached the residence area, they noticed that the parking lots were pretty empty. Upon entering the building, it was quiet, and there was a sole custodian buffing the floor. They rushed passed him and counted the numbers on the doors until reaching Blake's. It was slightly ajar. Regardless, Judy knocked anyway. No answer.

The knock caused the door to open slowly. Hesitantly, Nick and Judy entered. The room, once home to their pupil, was now empty. All the furniture had been removed, as well as all evidence that anyone was living in that room. After confirming that there was not a chance that Blake was still there, the exited. Nick rushed toward the custodian, tapping him on the shoulder

"Excuse me, but have all the students left already?" he asked. The custodian looked at him with a bored expression.

"Yep. Exams finished a few days ago. There are only three students left in this building, and I got the go ahead to start cleaning," he replied.

"Do you know where a student named Blake McInnes went?" Nick asked. The custodian shook his head.

"I don't know any of the students personally, so I'm afraid I can't help you." Nick sighed.

"It's fine. Have a good day," Nick said before rejoining Judy in the lobby.

"Did you ask him?" Judy asked. Nick nodded.

"Yeah, and as expected, he didn't have anything. It was a long shot anyway." Nick glanced at the clock on the wall. "We should probably head back to the hotel now." Nick looked through the glass doors to see that it had already started raining pretty hard. "There's no way we're gonna be able to walk back," he added.

"Yeah, I already called a cab. It should be here in about ten minutes," Judy replied. The two waited for their cab and when it arrived, they hurried out the door toward the vehicle. The ride back to the hotel was quiet, gloomy, and uneventful. When they arrived back at the hotel twenty minutes later, they paid their fare, thanked the driver, and headed into the building toward their room.

They only had another hour to wait until they were supposed to talk to Bogo. That hour was spent mostly in silence. Judy had received a text from him by the time six rolled around. Nick set up his laptop on the desk across from one of the beds and waited for Bogo to call them. Another five minutes later, the call came in.

"Hopps. Wilde. You wanted some clarification?" Bogo asked. Nick and Judy nodded. "Right then. So with the co-op over, you were supposed to return to Zootopia. However, with the whole Night Howler debacle up there, you two would prove to be a valuable asset to the case. I did manage to get into contact with the new Chief, a pleasant woman by the name of Ms. Pecore. We had a lengthy conversation about what to do with the two of you," Bogo explained.

"So, are we staying here or not?" Nick asked suddenly. Bogo shot Nick a glare, but Nick did not flinch. There was nothing Bogo could do to him physically behind a computer screen.

"Shut it. Ms., or rather, Chief Pecore decided that she would like you two to continue work on the case with them," Bogo continued. Nick shuffled in his seat.

"So we _are_ staying here, or..." Nick asked.

"I wish for you to return to Zootopia at least for a little while. You've been out there for nearly three months. It would be good for you to come home for at least four weeks before returning back to Borealis. You will continue work on the case from your stations here until then." Nick and Judy remained silent for a few moments.

"When are we leaving?" asked Judy.

"Your train departs from the station at twelve-thirty tomorrow, so I suggest you get to bed a bit earlier tonight. I'm quite busy this evening, so that will be all."

"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow, Buffalo-Butt," Nick replied with his signature smirk. Bogo only stared back with bored expression, shaking his head. With that, he disconnected. Nick then turned to Judy. "Guess we're going home," he said. Judy sighed.

"Yup, I wish we could have had the chance to say goodbye to Blake and Maxwell," she said. Nick frowned.

"Yeah, that would've been nice. Not much we can do, unfortunately." The two of them began packing a few of their things into their bags, leaving only the essentials for the morning. Nick shoved his computer back into the bag it was stored in as Judy began removing some of her clothing from one of the dressers. The sun began to set behind the cityscape, casting a beautiful orange-red light. The sky above it was beginning to darken to a deep purple colour.

By the time the sun had set completely, Nick and Judy had gotten into bed. They both said goodnight to each other. It was their last night in Borealis, at least, for a while.

Around nine the next morning, they both woke up and prepared for their trip back to Zootopia, after each getting themselves ready, they packed up the rest of their belongings and gathered them at the door.

Judy exited the washroom with the remainder of her things, closing the door behind her. She looked into the room to see Nick staring out the window. Slowly, she approached him from behind.

"I'm gonna miss this view, that's for sure," said Nick. Judy sighed, nodding her head.

"It is nice, isn't it." She tugged on Nick's shirt. "C'mon, we gotta get to the station. Our train leaves in ninety minutes." Nick left the window, closing the curtains behind him. The two stared into the room one last time. It had dawned on them that they had been living in a hotel room for the better part of three months, but it almost felt like home to them – a second home. They both glanced at each other before they left the room together.

The elevator ride was a quiet one. On the ground floor, the marvellous marble lobby shone brighter than ever. Nick pushed the trolley with their bags on it toward the front door as Judy walked beside him. Milo, from the front desk, waved goodbye to them as they left. There was already a cab waiting for them at the edge of the road.

By the time the cab arrived at the station, they only had another hour to wait. They hauled their bags toward the platform their train was going to arrive at and sat down on one of the benches.

"You excited to go back home?" Nick asked suddenly. The question came as a shock; he was rather quiet that morning.

"I guess. It has been a while," Judy replied. Nick sat up straight, clutching the paper cup containing some coffee.

"You seem troubled. Something on your mind?" Nick asked. He read right through her.

"I'm just worried about the case. I know we'll be working on it from home, but I can't really rest easy knowing that there's still terror happening here," Judy replied. Nick stared into his cup.

"That's a reasonable fear, I suppose. Don't worry about it too much, you'll burn yourself out that way. We'll be back here by the end of next month." Judy sighed.

"You're right. There's no sense wasting energy on worry. We'll do what we can from home and we'll be back in no time," Judy said cheerfully. Nick smiled.

"Now that's the Carrots I know," Nick said. Judy chuckled. A familiar rumble came from down the tracks and within minutes, their train arrived. They hobbled toward one of the cars and loaded their bags into the overhead storage space. They took their seats and waited for the train to depart.

As the train left the stating, they both stared out the windows. They watched as the population of Borealis went about their day. The roads were packed; the lunchtime rush. As they left the city centre, the buildings began to shrink in size until condo towers and co-ops turned into family homes and suburbs. Finally, the train began to ascend from the valley the city was in. The city looked so peaceful from this distance, and it looked as good in the spring as it did in the winter. The previously snow covered coniferous trees were now showing their dark green colours.

The train reached the top of the valley and took a right, heading southbound on the A-line to Zootopia. As the last of the city departed from their view, Nick and Judy returned to staring toward the front of the train. It was going to be a quiet ride back.

* * *

 _This might come as a shock, but this is the end of this particular story. I'm splitting it up because I want to work on the two other stories I admittedly care more about. Eventually, there will be a sequel published with the new arc I have planned, but for now, consider the Borealis storyline 'on hold.' Thanks for being with me on this year-long journey, and thanks for reading. -Prince._


End file.
